Ghouta reels from strikes despite ceasefire call

DOUMA, Syria: Desperate civilians trapped in one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria’s civil war awaited aid and medical help on Monday after regime air strikes pounded rebel-held East demands.

More than 500 people have been killed in a major bombing campaign by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces that has hammered the enclave on the edge of Damascus for over a week.

After days of diplomatic wrangling, the United Nations Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30- day to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

The resolution raised hopes of stemming the bloodshed, but after clashes continued on Sunday it was unclear when or be implemented.

Russia is a key ally of Assad’s regime. In a phone call on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged President to reach a truce.

They called on Russia “to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids

In Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air raids Syrian children fill plastic containers at a water pump in Arbin in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Sunday (Monday in Manila). and artillery strikes could be heard Sunday, an Agence France-Presse correspondent said.

Chemical attack claims

At least 14 civilians including three children were killed in strikes on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, bringing the total number of dead in the week to 530, among them over 130 children.

A child died and at least 13 other - ties after a suspected chemical attack on Sunday in a Syrian rebel enclave under intense regime bombardment, said the Observatory and a medic who treated those affected.

The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports a hospital in the besieged area, posted pictures on Twitter of small children using breathing apparatus.

including 6 children & 4 women, suffering from symptoms indicative to exposure to chemical compounds were treated” at the facility, it said.

Russia’s defense ministry said “leaders of armed groups are preparing a provocation to use toxic substances to accuse the regime of using chemical weapons,” in a statement that also said the situation in Eastern Ghouta “continued to worsen.”

An aid worker in Douma, quoted by British charity Save the Children, said a brief pause in bombing had prompted people to emerge after a week sheltering in basements.

“Some people had no food to eat for two or three days,” the unnamed aid worker said.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said there appeared be

Heavy clashes erupted in southern areas of Eastern Ghouta, killing at least 13 members of - ers from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, he said.

The Britain- based group uses a network of sources across Syria to monitor the country’s conflict. Mohamed Alloush, a key figure in Jaish al- Islam, tweeted that the rebels were “resisting” bids by regime forces to enter the region.

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or

The two main rebel groups controlling the enclave— Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman— welcomed the Security Council if there were renewed attacks.

UN diplomats say the resolution was watered down to ensure it was not vetoed by Russia, which has provided diplomatic and military support to Assad’s regime.