(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 23 civilians killed in deadly airstrikes hit the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs near the Capital, local activists said on Sunday.
Sunday's aerial and ground shelling killed 13 people in Misraba, and 10 more in Madyara and neighbouring suburbs.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 127 people, including 30 children, have been killed by air strikes and shelling since the regime army backed by Russian jets began an offensive nearly two weeks ago to take the besieged rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area.
Eastern Ghouta is one of several “de-escalation” zones across western Syria, where Russia has brokered deals to ease the fighting between rebels and Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The regime offensive began after rebels stormed an army complex in the heart of the city’s Eastern Ghouta on November 14.
The fortress-like Military Vehicles Administration in the regime-held part of Harasta town has long been used to strike at the densely populated Eastern Ghouta.
On Saturday, the Syrian warplanes struck an orphanage in Eastern Ghouta, according to a spokesman for the Turkish IHH humanitarian agency.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Selim Tosun said the attack targeted the “Hope Tree” orphanage, which accommodates 50 children.
The orphanage is run by IHH and Kuwait-based Zakat House organization.
“After the attack, children and 16 staff members sought shelter in the basement,” Tosun said, adding that the building had sustained damage in the attack.
Meanwhile, Eastern Ghouta is facing a critical humanitarian crisis, the UN and local activists say, and bring many more to the brink of starvation.
According to the Syrian American Medical Society, who have doctors working in the area, it received patients "suffering from constricted pupils, coughing, vomiting, and bradypnea" - or abnormally slow breathing.
More than 470,000 people are estimated to have been killed and millions displaced in the Syrian war, which began in 2011.
Zaman A Wasl
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