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DAMASCUS, March 6-- The Syrian army is carrying out operations against the rebels in the capital Damascus Eastern Ghouta countryside as part of its duty to fight terrorism in accordance with the international law, said a statement on Tuesday. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that all measures have been undertaken to ensure the protection of civilians in accordance with the Russian-backed daily humanitarian pause that was implemented following the adoption of the UN Security Resolution 2401, which was endorsed on Feb. 24 and called for a 30-day-long humanitarian ceasefire. The UN resolution urged for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria to give a space for the humanitarian activity to take place and save tens of thousands of civilians. The resolution, however, excluded the military operations against the terror-designated groups in Syria such as the Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee, otherwise known as the Nusra Front. The ministry welcomed the exclusion of the terror-labeled groups, saying the army is fighting those groups in Eastern Ghouta while observing the Russian-backed five-hour-long daily humanitarian pause to give the civilians time to leave through a humanitarian corridor in the Wafidin area northeast of Damascus. Russian media outlets said 13 women and children evacuated Eastern Ghouta through the humanitarian corridor on Monday night. Local media reports also said that two children left Eastern Ghouta a couple of days ago. | 
