Aid on hold as Syria shelling intensifies
GOVERNMENT DENY USE OF GAS
A SECOND convoy with desperately needed aid for the besieged rebel-held eastern suburbs of Damascus was postponed yesterday because of the violence and a rapidly evolving situation on the ground, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
The postponement came as Syrian government forces intensified their offensive on the area, known as eastern Ghouta, under the cover of airstrikes.
The government forces seized more than half of the area, including a stretch of farmland on Wednesday, effectively dividing the besieged enclave in two and further squeezing the rebels and tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside. The military gains have caused wide-scale internal displacement as civilians flee government advances toward areas in the territory still held by the rebels.
The government, determined to wrest the eastern Ghouta suburbs from the control of rebels after seven years of war, has intensified the shelling and bombardment to clear the way for its troops to advance on the ground.
Hundreds have been killed in the past two weeks. Some 400,000 people are believed to be inside the territory, trapped under a relentless air and ground campaign.
Doctors and residents reported intense shelling and cases of suffocation and breathing difficulties, accusing the government of using chlorine gas on Wednesday night.
Hamza Hassan, a surgeon at one of the hospitals in eastern Ghouta, said that staff were overwhelmed with chlorine odour and that he treated 29 children with breathing problems. The Government has repeatedly denied using chlorine gas and reports, which have been recurrent in recent weeks, could not be independently verified.