Battle drives thousands of Syrians from homes
Thousands of Syrian civilians are abandoning their homes and fleeing into the crowded rebel-held neighbourhoods of Eastern Ghouta as regime forces push closer into the heart of the besieged enclave.
Nearly three weeks into the offensive against the Damascus suburb, which has killed more than 900 people, forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad are on the cusp of splitting Eastern Ghouta in half.
A planned humanitarian aid delivery was called off amid a relentless bombardment from warplanes and artillery, while doctors said several dozen people were brought into hospital after a suspected chemical weapons attack.
Syrian regime troops and allied Shia militias have captured several districts in the east of the opposition-held pocket and are moving to sever the last narrow corridor of territory connecting the northern and southern parts.
Many civilians have simply stayed in their homes as the regime forces advanced. But others have grabbed their few belongings and risked travelling in the open to flee deeper into Eastern Ghouta.
A significant portion of the internally displaced people headed to the northern district of Douma, where families were already living in densely packed basements as they tried to seek shelter from the bombs.
‘‘Douma cannot take in more people,’’ said Haitham, a resident of the area. ‘‘There are families in the streets, there are people trying to get into basements, they are living in open areas. Some people are moving into destroyed apartments and hanging up sheets for shelter. It is a miserable situation and it is getting more tragic all the time.’’
Waiel Olwan, a spokesman for the Failaq al-Rahman rebel group, said that many of the people killed on Thursday and yesterday had died on the roads as they tried to stay ahead of advancing regime forces.
If Eastern Ghouta is divided in two by Assad’s troops it would leave Failaq al-Rahman in control of the southern portion, along with several smaller factions, while the Army of Islam, an Islamist rebel group, would retain control of
SYRIA:
Douma and the northern area.
A United Nations and Red Cross convoy was supposed to travel into Eastern Ghouta yesterday to deliver aid but the delivery was postponed amid the shelling. A convoy was able to reach the area on Tuesday but did not have time to make a full delivery.
A UN Security Council resolution passed on February 24 called for a ceasefire across all of Syria and the unfettered delivery of aid to besieged areas such as Eastern Ghouta.
Neither of those calls have been heeded by Russia or the Syrian regime.
Members of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC), the opposition umbrella group, are in New York this week calling for the UN to enforce its Security Council resolution. But Hadi al-Bahra, an SNC member, said he saw little sign that Western countries would act.
In theory, security council members can choose to enforce resolutions with sanctions or even air strikes. France, Britain and the US have mulled over strikes against the Assad regime or new sanctions against its allies, Russia and Iran, during the course of Syria’s seven-year war, but no action seems likely over the killing in Eastern Ghouta.
‘‘Unfortunately, until now I don’t see any clear direction on specific actions to be taken. There is a consensus on the need to do something, but no clear -direction on what to do,’’ Bahra said.
Doctors with the Syrian American Medical Society said they had treated at least 29 people for a suspected chlorine gas attack. Noone was killed.
Meanwhile, Turkish forces have captured Jandairis, a key town in their offensive against the Kurdish-held pocket of Afrin in northern Syria. - Telegraph Group