Syrian enclave: ‘It’s a wasteland’
Little left of rebel-held Eastern Ghouta
Damascus is a tale of two cities. On one side, buildings stand tall, divided by neat rows of flowering trees. On the other, it’s a vision of hell. In the government-controlled west, people attend work, school and dinner parties. In rebel-held Eastern Ghouta a few hundred metres away, they hide in basements, awaiting the next airstrike.
The military siege of the eastern suburb of the capital, home to nearly 400,000 residents, began in 2012 and has become one of the longest and most brutal in modern history.
For five years the enclave of 100 square kilometres has been pummelled by the Syrian regime, and more recently by Russia’s bombs, in efforts to dislodge the opposition from its stronghold and protect Bashar Assad’s seat of power.
Satellite imagery captured last week by McKenzie Intelligence Services lays bare the level of destruction. The most striking image shows the dividing line between al-Qassaa on the regime side and Jobar on the rebel side. Grey smudges denote the remains of levelled buildings. Craters dot the roads and streets have been wiped off the map. Smoke rises from the latest strikes. “There is little sign of daily life here,” said McKenzie’s Stuart Ray, a former British military intelligence officer. “We could see no cars driving or people on the streets, no shopkeepers opening their stores. It’s a wasteland.” According to the United Nations, 91 per cent of Jobar has been destroyed by the regime’s strikes, which have intensified in recent weeks. Government territory is regularly hit by mortars from rebel areas of Ghouta, but the damage is nothing to the devastation of the barrel bombs.
Since the government’s offensive escalated two weeks ago, 14 medical facilities have been taken out of service, according to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM). “From looking at the satellite images, you can see it’s a scorched earth policy,” Ray said. “In contrast to Sarajevo, the damage is incomparable. Even in the worst hit areas of Sarajevo some buildings still stood.” The conflict enters its eighth year this month, having seen hundreds of thousands of people killed and half the pre-war population of 23 million forced from their homes.