New raids kill 13 in Syria suburb; calls to end carnage

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 Thursday on a resolution, called for by Sweden and Kuwait, ordering a 30-day cease-fire throughout Syria to enable delivery of humanitarian aid and evacuation of the critically sick and wounded.