Shelling halts aid delivery to war-torn Syrian suburb
Relief effort was first in weeks
BEIRUT — The first aid delivery in weeks to reach the besieged eastern suburbs of Damascus was cut short after Syrian government forces began shelling the area while aid workers were still inside, a local council said Tuesday, amid a renewed escalation in the government’s deadly aerial and ground campaign.
Aid trucks had to leave before they could finish unloading supplies on Monday, as the eastern Ghouta suburbs suffered their worst day of violence since the U.N. Security Council demanded a 30-day ceasefire for Syria.
The Syrian American Medical Society charity, which supports hospitals in eastern Ghouta, said 79 people were killed in shelling and airstrikes, as the government, supported by Russia’s military, pushed its assault on the rebel-held suburbs, where the U.N. estimates close to 400,000 people are trapped under unmanageable levels of violence.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said 80 civilians were killed on Monday.
The Security Council resolution, which passed unanimously Feb. 25, has gone unheeded. Monday’s aid shipment was the first to enter eastern Ghouta amid weeks of a crippling siege and a government assault that has killed close to 800 civilians since Feb. 18. Aid agencies, however, said Syrian authorities removed basic health supplies, including trauma, surgical kits and insulin, from the convoys.
The U.N. said airstrikes and shelling in eastern Ghouta and the shelling of Damascus continued for hours while the convoy was unloading supplies.
“After nearly nine hours inside, the decision was made to leave for security reasons and to avoid jeopardizing the safety of humanitarian teams on the ground,” said Jens Laerke, deputy spokesperson for the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.