The continuation of the escalation on the Eastern Ghouta kills about 210 citizens since the UNSC resolution was issued out of 740 casualties killed by the intensive shelling in 16 consecutive days

Rif Dimashq Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the violent fighting is continuing between the regime forces backed by armed militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against the fighters of Jaysh Al-Islam, in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, where the clashes are concentrated on the contact lines between the both parties stretched from the western outskirts of Muhammedia town and the outskirts of Hosh Qubayat and the western outskirts of Al-Ash’ari town reaching to the farms of Beit Sawa, Mesraba, Douma and Al-Rihan, in an attempt by the regime forces under the command of Russian advisers and with the participation of Russian forces, to advance and control more areas, and reach the Vehicle Department to divide the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus into 2 sections, the first is northern one and includes the towns of Douma and Harasta and Al-Rihan farms, while the other on is northern and includes the towns and the cities of Arbin, Zamalka, Hamouriyah, Saqba, Hazza, Kafr Batna, Ein Tarma, Muhammedia and Aftries, after the regime forces managed since they started their attack on the 25th of February 2018, to take the control of Nashabiyah, Hazrama, Hosh Al-Dawahra, Hosh Al-Zriqiyyeh, Tallat Farzat, Al-Shifonyyah, parts of Al-Rihan farms and the Air Defense Regiment and the Regiment 274, reaching Beit Sawa Farms and Al-Ash’ari Farms and reaching the eastern outskirts of Hosh Qubayat and Muhammedia in the eastern and the south-eastern countryside of the besieged Ghouta of Damascus, and the regime forces managed to impose their control over more than 35% of the total area of the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus.

These clashes are accompanied by intensive shelling on the battle fronts, while the warplanes carried out raids targeting places in the area between Jisrayn and Saqba, which resulted in the injury of more than 20 citizens, while the regime forces targeted areas in Harasta by more than 60 shells, in conjunction with shelling 5 shells on Douma city, while more citizens died in the Eastern Ghouta, and the bodies of others where extracted, as a result of the ongoing shelling during the past night and this morning, where it has increased to 20 including a child and a citizen woman, the number of casualties who have been killed in Hamouriyah city as a result of the bombardment which targeted it yesterday before and after the midnight, also it has increased to 9, the number of casualties who have been killed today in the shelling by the regime forces on Harasta city, raising to 739, the number of Syrian civilians who were killed in the Eastern Ghouta, including 171 children and 104 women, who have been killed by the aerial, rocket and artillery shelling on the cities and towns of Douma, Harasta, Arbin, Zamalka, Hamouriyah, Jesrin, Kafr Batna, Hazza, Ash’ari, Nashabiyah, Aftries, Otaya, Al-Shifonyyah, Al-Marj area, Mesraba, Madyara, Beit Sawa, and other areas in the besieged Ghouta of Damascus, and the shelling during this period which completed 2 weeks since it started, resulted in the injury of more than 3740 citizens including hundreds of children and citizen women with varying severity, some of them have permanent disabilities, while the bodies of tens of citizens are still under the rubble of destruction caused by the aerial, rocket and artillery shelling by the regime forces on the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, and the total death toll documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, includes 207 casualties including 34 children and 28 women who were killed and documented by the SOHR after the resolution of the UNSC, which failed again to stop the killing of the people of the Eastern Ghouta.