The Syrian civil defense corps has published figures detailing the amount of weapons and bombs that the Assad regime, Iranian militias and Russian air force have so far used during their ongoing onslaught against the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta. The suburb is home to largest number of civilians besieged by regime forces in Syria.
In a report released on Tuesday, the volunteer aid group said that at least 1,433 civilians were killed as a result of the assault on the rebel-held enclave in the period between February 1 and March 23. It pointed out that the victims included 223 women and 291 children as well as 12 civil defense volunteers. It also confirmed that war crimes are being committed against civilians
The civil defense, also known as the White Helmets, noted that the ongoing onslaught on eastern Ghouta has caused a variety of injuries among civilians. A total of 3,607 civilians, including 975 children, 790 women, and 31 rescue workers were injured in the bombing campaign, the report added.
The civil defense said that the Assad regime forces used various types of weapons in its attacks on the Damascus suburb. At least 3,300 airstrikes and 1,200 barrel bombs hit the area during the reporting period.
Moreover, regime forces pounded the besieged suburb with more than 8,000 artillery shells, 1,600 surface-to-surface rockets, and 5,600 rockets.
According to the report, regime forces used poison gas in at least ten attacks against civilians and targeted the area with more than 500 insectary bombs.
Vice-president of the Syrian Coalition Salwa Aksoi on Saturday called on the United Nations and international human rights organizations to document the mass forced displacement and demographic change taking place against residents of eastern Ghouta at the hands of the Assad regime, Iranian militias and Russia.
Aksoi stressed the need for the UN Human Rights Council to participate in the documentation process, adding that the atrocities taking place in eastern Ghouta constituted war crimes under international law and international humanitarian law. She reiterated calls for the referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable, especially Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
