Latest airstrikes kill 13 in Syrian

Hospitals, residential buildings hit in days- long bombardment that has left hundreds dead

BEIRUT — A new wave of deadly Syrian government bombardment in the opposition- held eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus on Thursday killed 13 people as world leaders and aid groups called for an end to the carnage that has left hundreds of people dead in recent days.

The airstrikes on rebel towns in the suburb known as eastern Ghouta were reported by several local opposition activist groups and a Britain- based war monitor. The Syrian Civil Defence that works in opposition- held areas said its paramedics rushed to several areas after the shelling.

Syrian government forces have been pounding the area for days, hitting residential buildings, hospitals and infrastructure and overwhelming medics and rescue workers. The bombardment has forced many among the nearly 400,000 residents to sleep in basements and makeshift shelters, and has overwhelmed rescue workers who have spent days digging out survivors from the wreckage of bombed out buildings.

UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate suspension of “all war activities” in the area where he said people are living “in hell on earth.” The UN Security Council was expected to vote on a resolution, called for by Sweden and Kuwait, ordering a 30- day ceasefire throughout Syria to enable delivery of humanitarian aid and evacuation of the critically sick and wounded.

Russia’s U. N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called a 30- day ceasefire unrealistic, but Moscow said Thursday it would consider supporting the UN- proposed ceasefire if it doesn’t cover extremists such as the Islamic State group and al- Qaida- linked groups.

The Russian military is again supporting Assad’s forces as it did in the all- out assault on the rebel- held half of Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, in late 2016, which drove the rebels from their enclave there.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the European Union to step up pressure on Russia and Iran to end the violence in Syria.

“The regime is not fighting against terrorists, but against its own people, killing children, destroying hospitals, and this is a massacre to be condemned,” she told Parliament.

Russian news reports, meanwhile, said Moscow has beefed up its forces in Syria with several warplanes, including its latest fighter jets.

News outlets on Thursday carried pictures of a pair of Su- 57 fighters heading to land at Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia that serves as the main hub for Russian operations in Syria. An early warning A- 50 plane, four Su- 35 fighters and four Su- 25 ground attack jets also arrived at the base Wednesday.

The Kremlin on Thursday wouldn’t comment on the reports, referring the questions to the military that remained mum about the deployment.

Russia has rejected allegations it was responsible for the mounting civilian casualties in eastern Ghouta, but anger is mounting along with the death toll.

On Thursday, scores of protesters including prominent Syrian opposition figures gathered outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, some of them chanting: “Russia get out of Syria” and “Iran get out of Syria” in Turkish and Arabic.

Syria’s conflict, which has killed more than 400,000 people and displaced millions in the past seven years, has escalated in recent weeks as the Syrian president and his allies push to retake remaining rebel- held areas in the country.

Turkey has also opened a new front against Syrian Kurdish fighters in the north, launching an air and ground offensive on the Kurdish- controlled enclave of Afrin in the country’s northwest last month.

Hundreds of pro- Syrian government fighters this week entered Afrin as part of an agreement with the Kurdish militia, known as the YPG, to bolster resistance to Turkey’s assault.

Hundreds of people gathered in Afrin’s main square Thursday, celebrating the arrival of the pro- government fighters into the area.

TV footage showed fighters in camouflage uniforms standing among scores of men who gathered in the square waving posters of Assad.