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| Image source: Al Jazeera |
An surge in attacks by the Syrian government and its allies has killed 71 people in the rebel-held eastern Ghouta pocket near Damascus in 24 hours, a war monitoring group said on Monday.
Air strikes, rocket fire and shelling on several parts of the besieged suburbs also wounded 325 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The British-based monitor said the escalation had started on Sunday evening in Ghouta, the only major insurgent enclave around the capital.
There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military. The Damascus government has said it only targets militants.
Factions in Ghouta fired mortars at districts of Damascus, killing a child and wounding eight others, Syrian state media said. Troops and allied forces struck militant targets there in response, state news agency SANA said.
The United Nations says nearly 400,000 people live in eastern Ghouta, a pocket of satellite towns and farms under government siege since 2013.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military gained momentum in the war after Russian war planes entered on his side in 2015, pushing rebels from major cities, and retaking much of central and eastern Syria from Islamic State.
Through seiges, offensives and local evacuation deals, the army has seized a series of insurgent enclaves around the capital, with the help of Russia and Iran.
The Civil Defence in eastern Ghouta, a rescue service in rebel territory known as the White Helmets, said heavy strikes and artillery pounded Saqba, Jisreen, Hammouriyeh and other towns there on Monday.
The United Nations said last week that civilians in Syria were suffering through some of the worst fighting of the entire conflict, which is entering its eighth year. The multi-sided conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
