This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/21/syrian-death-toll-rises-as-bombing-of-rebel-enclave-continues

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Fresh strikes kill civilians in Syrian rebel enclave Aid agencies call for urgent ceasefire in besieged Syrian enclave
(about 7 hours later)
Rockets and barrel bombs dropped by pro-regime forces have killed dozens of people on the fourth day of an intense assault on the besieged opposition enclave of eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. Aid agencies, including the Red Cross and World Food Programme, are calling for an urgent ceasefire to allow them to reach the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta, as rockets and barrel bombs dropped by pro-regime forces killed dozens more people on the fourth day of an intense assault.
Terrified residents were sheltering in caves, dugouts and basements, as a rain of explosives hit homes, roads and hospitals. Monitoring groups say the attack has been among the most intense in a war already marked by extreme brutality. The calls were echoed by the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, who demanded an immediate suspension of “all war activities” in the rebel-held Damascus suburb, which he described as a “hell on earth”.
“Just a cup of water or a piece of bread may cost a man his life because he is under attack from missiles,” said Dr Fayez Orabi, one of the doctors in East Ghouta. “They cannot get out of their shelters.” The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, also called for an immediate halt to hostilities, warning that “civilians were being slaughtered in droves”.
Terrified residents in the area, where 400,000 people are trapped on the outskirts of Damascus, were sheltering in caves, dugouts and basements, as a hail of explosives hit homes, roads and hospitals amid what aid officials warned was an unfolding “humanitarian catastrophe”.
In its statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said medical personnel in eastern Ghouta were unable to cope with the high number of wounded, adding that “wounded victims are dying only because they cannot be treated in time”.
The call for a pause in the fighting to allow food and medical aid to reach eastern Ghouta came as some international agencies, who work with local partners in the densely populated agricultural area on the outskirts of Damascus, announced they were suspending their programmes because of the risk.
The halting of aid efforts in an area that has seen one small convoy of aid enter since November comes as acute malnutrition levels among children in the enclave have quadrupled in less than a year to the highest levels seen in Syria’s seven-year war.
“Just a cup of water or a piece of bread may cost a man his life because he is under attack from missiles,” said Dr Fayez Orabi, one of the doctors in eastern Ghouta. “They cannot get out of their shelters.”
The attacks have killed over 250 civilians, including at least two dozen on Wednesday morning, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. More than 1,200 others have been injured, a toll people on the ground say has been exacerbated by attacks on hospitals, clinics and ambulances.The attacks have killed over 250 civilians, including at least two dozen on Wednesday morning, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. More than 1,200 others have been injured, a toll people on the ground say has been exacerbated by attacks on hospitals, clinics and ambulances.
There has been widespread condemnation from the United Nations and politicians around the world, but without any action to halt or lessen the bombardment. “It is a miserable situation, the whole world just watching us,” said Orabi.There has been widespread condemnation from the United Nations and politicians around the world, but without any action to halt or lessen the bombardment. “It is a miserable situation, the whole world just watching us,” said Orabi.
Pilots circling overhead are using ambulances for targeting, following them from bomb sites to locate temporary medical centres, he claimed. Photographs and videos sent from inside the enclave showed bloody, fractured bodies and the aftermath of the strikes. In one a weeping father seizes his son’s tiny body from the bed of a truck taking it to burial, for one last embrace.
Photographs and videos sent from inside the enclave, home to about 400,000 people, showed bloody, fractured bodies and the aftermath of the strikes. In one a weeping father seizes his son’s tiny body from the bed of a truck taking it to burial, for one last embrace. The surge in killing in Ghouta came amid reports of an impending regime incursion into the area, as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad look to regain control of a a rebel stronghold that was once the capital’s breadbasket.
“We are not just numbers, we are human beings,” said one activist. “We have the right to live in peace and [have a say] in who governs Syria. Bashar al-Assad is a war criminal and must be held accountable.” “The offensive has not started yet. This is preliminary bombing,” a commander in the coalition fighting on behalf of Assad’s government told Reuters.
Eastern Ghouta is a rebel-held enclave that borders the city of Damascus. Once a breadbasket of the Syrian capital, since 2013 it has been under a siege that has tightened severely over the last year. In 2013 the area was targeted in a chemical attack by the Syrian regime that killed more than a thousand civilians and nearly prompted a US intervention in the war.Eastern Ghouta is a rebel-held enclave that borders the city of Damascus. Once a breadbasket of the Syrian capital, since 2013 it has been under a siege that has tightened severely over the last year. In 2013 the area was targeted in a chemical attack by the Syrian regime that killed more than a thousand civilians and nearly prompted a US intervention in the war.
The enclave is controlled by a mix of rebel groups dominated by the Islamist leaning Jaysh al-Islam, though the day-to-day affairs of the towns in the area are run by local civilian councils.The enclave is controlled by a mix of rebel groups dominated by the Islamist leaning Jaysh al-Islam, though the day-to-day affairs of the towns in the area are run by local civilian councils.
The situation is catastrophic for the 400,000 civilians who still live in eastern Ghouta. Prices for basic foodstuffs have skyrocketed and medical supplies are mostly absent because of the siege. Treating the injured is especially difficult because of the repeated bombing of hospitals and clinics. The situation is catastrophic for the 400,000 civilians who still live in eastern Ghouta. Prices for basic foodstuffs have skyrocketed and medical supplies are mostly absent because of the siege. Treating the injured is especially difficult because of the repeated bombing of hospitals and clinics. 
An estimated 700 civilians have been killed in the area in the last three months alone, not including those killed over the last week of escalation.An estimated 700 civilians have been killed in the area in the last three months alone, not including those killed over the last week of escalation.
The first aid convoy to the region in months arrived a week ago but did not do much to alleviate the suffering. The first aid convoy to the region in months arrived a week ago but did not do much to alleviate the suffering. 
The surge in killing in Ghouta came amid reports of an impending regime incursion into the area, as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad look to regain control of a a rebel stronghold that was once the capital’s breadbasket. Aid officials interviewed by the Guardian in Damascus and elsewhere described the situation in eastern Ghouta as a “hell on earth” in particular for the estimated 200,000 children trapped in an area, with some 67 children reportedly among the fatalities recorded in the last few days.
“The offensive has not started yet. This is preliminary bombing,” a commander in the coalition fighting on behalf of Assad’s government told Reuters. The ground campaign will aim to stop rebels using the area to target eastern Damascus, he added. Even before the current intensification of the government’s bombardment, experts were warning that food prices in the besieged area had made it impossible for many residents to afford a meal with a basic portion of bread costing a staggering 85 times as much as in Damascus 10 miles away, and with a cylinder of cooking gas – available for $44 (£31) in the capital – selling for up to $300 in eastern Ghouta.
State media have reported two people wounded in Damascus by rebel shelling on Wednesday, after at least six people died on Tuesday. Without planes or helicopters though, rebel attacks on government strongholds are usually much less bloody than pro-regime bombing of areas held by their opponents. Among agencies announcing that the violence had made continued work impossible was Care, whose Syria country director, Wouter Schaap, warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” if a ceasefire was not agreed.
Government forces and their Russian and Iranian supporters, pushing for a outright military victory rather than a negotiated settlement to the war, have repeatedly used bombing campaigns on civilian targets to help seize rebel territory. “The situation in eastern Ghouta is more critical than ever. Despite their resilience for years, people are giving up hope for survival.
The attacks, most notoriously in besieged Aleppo, have provoked international outrage but no military penalty for the bloodshed. “Unlike previous airstrikes, destruction has reached every area this time. There is no place for people to go – no shelter, no safety,” said ‘Hanaa’, who works in eastern Ghouta with a local organisation supported by Care.
That pattern is now repeating in Ghouta, where civilians were already vulnerable. The area has been besieged since 2013, aid workers had warned of shortages of food medicine and other basic necessities before the latest attack, and attacks over the three months leading up to this week’s attacks had killed 700 people. The UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees in Syria, said it was also suspending food aid and schooling after two of its students were killed in a mortar attack in a move it said would affect 27,000 children.
Amnesty International said “flagrant war crimes were being committed on an “epic scale” in eastern Ghouta. Juliette Touma of Unicef also painted a bleak picture. “What we know that is that needs are dire in eastern Ghouta. It is impossible to compare suffering with suffering [in Syria] but it is truly horrific. It is a hell hole. A killing field for children. They are being killed every day.”
Diana Semaan, the charity’s Syria researcher, said: “People have not only been suffering a cruel siege for the past six years, they are now trapped in a daily barrage of attacks that are deliberately killing and maiming them, and that constitute flagrant war crimes.” Jakob Kern, the World Food Programmes’s chief in Damascus, added: “Since it intensified it is no longer a question for civilians of basic needs. It is about survival. It’s a question of, do I live through this day.
Russia denied any role in the attacks on Eastern Ghouta, after a US official accused Moscow of taking part in bombing raids, Reuters reported. “Two two weeks ago we managed to deliver enough food for 7,000 people in the first convoy in three months. Less than 2% of the people who needed it got aid. We have asked and asked just about everyone for a pause but realistically we need a month’s halt in the fighting to deliver a month of rations.”
“These are groundless accusations. It is not clear what they are based on. No specific data has been given. We do not agree (with them),” said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response to a US briefing saying that Russia was responsible for the attacks. He added: “When we surveyed a year ago, malnutrition was at 3% and it is almost 12% and that tells you a lot.
Eastern Ghouta is named as a “de-escalation” safe zone, agreed by Russia, Iran and Turkey in peace talks. However fighters based there include a few from a former al-Qaida affiliate, which is not covered by the truce deals, apparently giving the government formal reason to launching attacks. “And it is not just food but medical resources. If you are wounded, you won’t be treated. If you get sick from something you or I could survive with antibiotics, the risk is that you will die.”
The bloodshed in Ghouta came as government forces also arrived into Kurdish-held areas in northern Afrin province. Assad’s fighters were invited into areas that they had lost several years ago by Kurds desperate for help fighting off a Turkish-supported offensive.
The mix of forces on the battlefields of northern Syria has raised fears that proxy wars could escalate into more intense confrontation, after years of failed international efforts to pursue a negotiated settlement.
The assortment of groups facing off across various frontlines include Islamist Syrian rebels, US backed radical-left Kurds, Iranian-backed militias, Turkish supported fighters and Syrian government troops.
SyriaSyria
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content