Syrian government forces attacked a rebel-held town east of Damascus killing at least ten civilians, human rights monitors have claimed.
Tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the Eastern Ghouta area including the besieged town of Douma.
Dozens of civilians have been treated overnight in a hospital in Douma after claims that forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad launched an artillery attack on the enclave.
Ten civilians have been killed and dozens have been injured in the latest shelling by forces loyal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, where this child is being treated for his injuries overnight
Residents in the rebel-held enclave of Douma have been sheltering from airstrikes and artillery bombardment
Since February 18, more than 640 civilians – including 150 children – have been killed during attacks on Eastern Ghouta
Russia-backed regime forces have since February 18 killed more than 640 civilians – including over 150 children – in bombardment of Eastern Ghouta, one of the armed opposition’s last strongholds in the country.
Following a deadly wave of air strikes and shelling, fighting on the ground has intensified in recent days, with loyalists retaking several areas inside the agricultural region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Regime forces have advanced steadily since Thursday, the Britain-based monitor said, recapturing two areas in the east and southeast of the enclave on Saturday alone.
Obsevatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said: ‘Regime forces and their allies have intensified their attacks on rebel positions in the past 48 hours.’
Eastern Ghouta’s 400,000 residents have lived under regime siege since 2013, facing severe food and medicine shortages even before the latest offensive.
This man was pulled from rubble and taken to hospital in Douma for treatment following the most recent attacks
The United Nations wants Syrian and Russian forces to agree a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to be sent into the area
Human rights observers said the hospital in Douma is running low on essential supplies needed to treat the wounded
The fighting on the ground comes after Russia on Tuesday started a daily five-hour ‘humanitarian pause’ in the enclave – a move that falls far short of a 30-day ceasefire demanded by the UN Security Council.
The ferocity of the bombardment initially lessened but it has continued to claim lives, and trucks loaded with desperately needed aid remain unable to enter the enclave.
Thousands of civilians instead are surviving on meagre stocks, and medical staff struggle to treat casualties with inadequate medical supplies.
The UN Human Rights Council postponed voting Friday on a British resolution condemning the crisis in Eastern Ghouta, after member states failed to agree on a final text.
Moscow has offered safe passage to non-combatants wishing to leave the enclave during the pause, but no Syrian civilians have left since Tuesday, the Observatory says.
The UN Human Rights Council failed on Friday to agree a resolution condemning the crisis in Eastern Ghouta
Syrian forces have launched a major offensive to dislodge rebel fighters from the Eastern Ghouta area outside Damascus
Government fighters are trying to advance inside Eastern Ghouta to cut off the main town of Douma and its surroundings in the north of the enclave, as well as isolate the southeastern area of Al-Marj, Abdel Rahman said.
Jaish al-Islam, a main opposition group in the region, accused regime forces of carrying out a ‘scorched earth policy’ as they progressed into the enclave.
Opposition fighters abandoned their positions confronted with ‘hysterical bombing’ in agricultural areas in the east, Jaish al-Islam spokesman Hamza Bayraqdar said on Telegram.
Since February 25, 60 regime and allied fighters have been killed, while 34 rebels from Jaish al-Islam have also died, it said.
Rebels today control only a third of the area they once held in Eastern Ghouta in 2012, as regime forces have gradually taken back territory from them.
More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
So far, more than 340,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes since the start of Syria’s civil war
Trucks loaded with aid for the beleaguered civilians have been unable to enter the conflict zone because of the shelling