Orient Net, Mar 2, 2018— Russian proposals for humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Eastern Ghouta in Syria are a “joke” and people are afraid to use them for fear of conscription, exile or death, the US State Department said on Thursday (March 1).

“The idea that Russia is calling for a so-called humanitarian corridor, I want to be clear, is a joke,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a briefing.

Residents fear using such corridors because they could be conscripted into Assad’s militias, never return to their homes, or be killed, she said.

She confirmed that “What needs to happen instead is a nationwide ceasefire that was voted upon unanimously at the United Nations last Saturday.”

The UN Security Council, including Assad’s strongest ally Russia, passed a resolution on Saturday calling for a 30-day countrywide ceasefire. But the measure has not taken effect, with Russia and Assad regime saying they are battling members of ‘terrorist groups’ excluded from the truce.

Russia has instead called for daily five-hour local ceasefires to establish what it calls a humanitarian corridor, so aid can enter the enclave and civilians and wounded can leave.

Russia’s truce quickly collapsed when bombing and shelling resumed killing more civilians.