The Assad regime’s air force conducted many air strikes on the towns of the besieged Eastern Ghouta in Rural Damascus, killing and injuring dozens of people and causing massive destruction to civilian homes and infrastructure. The regime’s aerial campaign on Eastern Ghouta began 12 days ago and caused widespread death and destruction in the rebel-held area.
Thirteen people were killed, including four women and six children, in the town of Hammourya, while ten more were killed in an airstrike on a marketplace in Saqba. Dozens of casualties were also reported in Zamalka which was struck by two air strikes.
The town of Douma also came under heavy artillery and mortar fire, while the town of Ayn Tarma was hit with rockets.
Meanwhile, civil defense teams and the Harasta local council announced that Harasta is a disaster area as a result of the regime’s aerial campaign and unprecedented bombardment by artillery and mortar shells. They said that regime forces set about a systematic campaign to flatten the town through bombardment and demolishing of houses.
In response to the regime’s escalation of violence and military operations against rebel-held areas, the Syrian Coalition stated that “the UN Security Council and the international community’s lukewarm response is a contributing factor in the escalation of massacres against Syrian civilians.”
“The Syrian Coalition strongly condemns all military and financial support given to the Assad regime, specifically supplying it with arms and ammunition. We see in this a participation in crimes against humanity. The international community has legal and moral responsibility to prevent Assad from continuing his crimes against the Syrian people. Supporting Assad with more weapons will enable him to commit more of these genocidal crimes.”
“Targeting densely populated areas is undoubtedly a war crime and a violation of international law regardless of any excuse or justification. However, Assad’s crimes outweigh every other war crime as civilians are deliberate targets for bombs,” the Syrian Coalition added. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)
