The Eastern Ghouta of Damascus witnesses the first night devoid of shelling and casualties since the start of the ground attack by the regime forces and Russia
Rif Dimashq Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the calm has been prevailing the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus since Thursday night the 8th of March 2018, where the skies of the Eastern Ghouta witnessed an absence of warplanes, and the aerial and ground shelling stopped to target its cities and towns which are still controlled by the factions, while the pace of clashes has decreased between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against the Islamic factions, on the contact lines in the Eastern Ghouta.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from reliable sources that the decreased pace of clashes and the stop of the aerial and ground shelling, came as a good will sign, in the light of local negotiations taking place between traders and dignitaries in Damascus with the regime’s authorities to reach a solution in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, either by taking the citizens out or by getting the fighters out of the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, which has been witnessing violent shelling since the 18th of February 2018, which resulted in massacres which left thousands of casualties and wounded, and caused great material damage.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also learned form several local sources that tens of citizens in Hamouriyah city took part in a demonstration raising the Syrian flags recognized internationally, calling for stopping the killing and replace it with peace in the Eastern Ghouta, after the Eastern Ghouta witnessed the death of 931 Syrian civilians who were killed in the Eastern Ghouta, including 195 children and 125 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 4300 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 399 casualties including 54 children and 45 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, and the shelling resulted in the fall of hundreds of wounded, where the number of casualties may increase because of the presence of serious injuries, amid the tragic humanitarian situation of the people of Ghouta, who intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that they do not leave the shelters for fear of the intensive shelling, amid inability of the medical staff to relieve all medical cases.