Doctors, kids killed in Ghouta blitz
SYRIA: Doctors and aid workers have described wrenching scenes in the besieged Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, where hundreds of civilians have been killed in the past three days in some of the worst bombardments of the Syrian civil war.
The United Nations said six hospitals in the district had been hit in air strikes by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with three of them put out of service. At least three doctors had been killed.
The UN issued desperate statements calling for political intervention to stop the carnage.
Doctors said that at least 225 people had been killed, 54 of them children. One said he had treated pregnant women and babies who had lost limbs.
‘‘We have many, many wounded and dead in the hospital,’’ the doctor said. ‘‘Whole families are being brought here, either all killed or with just one or two surviving.’’
He added: ‘‘Recent attacks were concentrated on residential buildings rather than military sites.’’
The regime has increased its bombardment over the past two weeks in preparation for an expected assault on the rebel bastion. At least 350,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the area, which was supposed to be subject to a ‘‘de-escalation zone’’ agreed to by Russia and Iran, the regime’s backers, and Turkey, which supports the rebels.
A ceasefire a year ago was followed by preliminary peace talks but they collapsed last month.
A column of regime troops several kilometres long arrived on the outskirts of eastern Ghouta last week, led by Assad’s most successful military leader, Brigadier General Soheil al-Hassan, known as ‘‘The Tiger’’.
The bombardment by the Syrian air force – and, according to observers in the region, Russian Sukhoi-24 fighter bombers – has grown to become the most severe since the assault on Aleppo in late 2016.
‘‘Russia is clearly aiming at copying the genocide of Aleppo in Ghouta,’’ Mohammed Hassan, a resident, said. ‘‘It has no plans for Syria except destroying the cities.’’
Amnesty International said war crimes ‘‘on an epic scale’’ were unfolding.
‘‘The Syrian government, with the backing of Russia, is intentionally targeting its own people in eastern Ghouta,’’ it said. ‘‘The United Nations Security Council must enforce its own resolutions, which call for an end to sieges of civilian areas and attacks on civilians, and for unimpeded humanitarian access.’’
‘‘Do those inflicting the suffering still have words to justify their barbaric acts?’’ Unicef asked. It issued a one-page press release, blank apart from a single line: ‘‘We no longer have the words to describe children’s suffering and our outrage.’’
Panos Moumtzis, the UN’s humanitarian chief for Syria, said: ‘‘The situation of civilians in [eastern] Ghouta is spiralling out of control. It’s imperative to end this senseless human suffering now. Such targeting of innocent civilians and infrastructure must stop now.’’
Qusai Ahmed, a media activist in the town of Jisrin, said only civilian areas had been targeted. ‘‘All kinds of weapons have been used: barrel bombs, aerial rockets from Syrian and Russian jets, hundreds of artillery shells, ground-toground rockets.’’
The rebels retaliated by shelling the centre of Damascus. One person died.
Wael Alwan, a rebel spokesman, said the offensive showed that the Russian-led peace talks were merely an attempt to buy time.
‘‘These massacres committed every day against children and women are all intentionally perpetrated by Russia as a partner of the regime.’’ –