The assault on the Wadi Barada valley northwest of Damascus by regime forces and the Hezbollah militias has continued for the 34th day consecutive day; a day after the Astana talks concluded in the Kazakh capital on Tuesday.
The villages of Ayn Alfija and Deir Miqrin in the Wadi Barada valley have come under the most intense bombardment since the start of the assault by regime forces and their allies over a month ago.
The Syrian Coalition’s Media Office recorded at least 20 daily violations of the truce by regime forces and their allied foreign militias. In total, regime forces and their allies have breached the truce over 850 times since it was announced on December 29, 2016.
Regime forces and the Hezbollah militias besieging the Wadi Barada valley have pounded the area with tens of rockets, heavy artillery and tanks. Despite the intense bombardment, the FSA and rebel fighters in the area have repelled repeated attempts by regime forest and their allies to advance on the area, especially the village of Ayn Alfija.
The media center in the Wadi Barada valley said that over 200 people, half of them women and children, have been killed as a result of the regime bombardment in the past month. The assault has also left 400 people wounded, of whom 150 need urgent medical evacuation. All hospitals and medical centers have been put out of service after being directly targeted by the shelling. Moreover, the regime’s assault forced over 45,000 people in the area out of their homes.
Regime forces and the Iranian-backed militias continue with their plans to bring about a demographic change in Damascus and its countryside through the mass forced displacement of whole communities from the rebel-held areas.
The Wadi Barada valley northwest of Damascus is the scene of the latest attempt by the Assad regime to force the local population to agree to an evacuation deal after a month-long brutal assault on the rebel-held area in a blatant violation of the truce. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
