After calm prevailing the Eastern Ghouta for hours, violent battles took place in the vicinity of Douma and the regime forces started heavy shelling operation in areas in the Ghouta

After a state of clam prevailing the Eastern Ghouta over the past hours, which also coincided with the displacement of thousands from areas controlled by Al-Rahman Corps towards areas controlled by the regime forces in the Eastern Ghouta, where the regime forces began heavy rocket shelling on areas in Douma city, which is the main stronghold of Jaysh Al-Islam and the area remained under its control in the Ghouta. This shelling coincided with airstrikes by warplane on places in Douma area, along with violent clashes taking place between the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against Jaysh Al-Islam, in the eastern and southern parts of the city, amid ongoing exchange of targeting in the city, which has been witnessing a state of calm, in conjunction with the displacement of hundreds of citizens from the city towards the areas controlled by the regime forces who went out in groups for several consecutive days, within the agreement with Jaysh Al-Islam to allow the displacement of medical cases from the city. The regime forces shelled areas controlled by Al-Rahman Corps in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, in the southwestern part of it, and the artillery shelling targeted Ein Tarma town and Zamalka city, which is the stronghold of Al-Rahman Corps, in addition to missile shelling on areas in Arbin City, killing a citizen and injuring others with different severity, and the death toll is still expected to increase due to the presence of injured people in serious conditions.

The SOHR published hours ago that the displacement of citizens from the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus is continuing, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the displacement of thousands of citizens since today morning, the 18th of March 2018, after more than 50 thousand citizens have displaced, during the past 72 hours, from the south-western pocket of the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, controlled by Al-Rahman Corps, and the displacement of the citizens today, was coincided with calm prevailing the Eastern Ghouta intervened by overflights of warplanes over the area and the fall of shells on areas in Ein Tarma town, and this calm, according to information obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, comes amid anticipations for announcing the agreement supposed to be reached between Al-Rahman Corps and the Russian side, to bring the fighters of Al-Rahman Corps out to the Syrian North, where Al-Rahman Corps still controls Arbin, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and parts of Jobar neighborhood.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented thousands of casualties and wounded, in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus since the escalation started on the 18th of February 2018, until today the 18th of March 2018, where the Syrian Observatory documented the death of more than 1401 Syrian civilians whose death was documented by the Syrian Observatory in the Eastern Ghouta, including 276 children and 174 women, who have been killed since the 18th of February 2018, 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, resulted in the injury of more than 5200 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 869 casualties including 135 children and 91 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.