34 civilians killed in regime strike on E. Ghouta: monitor

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BEIRUT, March 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Syrian regime air strikes on the
besieged rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus killed more than 30
civilians including children on Sunday, a monitoring group said.

“Thirty-four civilians were killed in regime strikes and rockets on
Eastern Ghouta,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, adding that 11 of the victims were children.

Rahman also said 26 of the people killed were in Ghouta’s main town of
Douma and its eastern suburb.

The regime’s air strikes, artillery fire and rocket attacks on Ghouta over
the past 15 days have left more than 690 civilians dead, according to SOHR.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday his forces must push on with
their campaign to retake Eastern Ghouta from rebels, despite mounting
international calls to end the bloodshed.

Assad’s forces have seized over a quarter of the enclave on Damascus’s
eastern edges after two weeks of devastating bombardment, according to SOHR.

As the United States, Britain and France stepped up pressure on Damascus
and Moscow to call off the assault, the United Nations said it plans to
deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Eastern Ghouta’s residents.