‘It’s a bloody day’
Shelling kills at least 130 people as government appears to be readying for major assault
BEIRUT — Intense Syrian government shelling and airstrikes on rebel-held Damascus suburbs killed nearly 130 people in two days, marking some of the deadliest bombardment of the rebellious region in three years, a monitoring group and paramedics said Tuesday.
Retaliatory shells rained down on Damascus, killing at least eight people and causing panic among residents of the Syrian capital, seat of President Bashar Assad’s power.
The targeted suburbs — scattered across an area known as eastern Ghouta — have been subjected to weeks-long bombardment that has killed and wounded hundreds of people. Opposition activists say government forces have brought in more reinforcements in recent days, suggesting a major assault is imminent to recapture the area that is the last main rebel stronghold near Damascus.
The area that has been under siege since last year is home to some 400,000 people as well as thousands of insurgents belonging to different factions. The most powerful are the ultraconservative Army of Islam and Failaq al-Rahman with a small presence of alQaida-linked fighters.
Videos from the eastern suburbs showed paramedics pulling out the injured from under the rubble while others are seen franticly digging through the debris in the dark, in search for survivors.
Monday’s bombardment that killed nearly 100 people saw the use of warplanes, helicopter gunships, missiles as well as artillery, in a major escalation of violence.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was the deadliest days in eastern Ghouta since 2015, adding that 20 children and 15 women were among those killed.
The opposition-affiliated Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, said the shelling and airstrikes killed 98 and that some people are still under the rubble. It said the dead included one of the rescue group’s members, Firas Jomaa.
Rebels retaliated by hitting some Damascus neighbourhoods with mortar shells, killing eight people, including three children, and wounding 15 people, according to the state news agency SANA. On Tuesday morning, Damascus residents reported shelling of areas in central Damascus.
“Shells are falling like rain. We are hiding in the corridor,” a Damascus resident said, asking that her name not be used for her own safety.
“It’s a bloody day,” said Abdelrahman Shahin, a 31-year-old resident of Damascus who was walking on the street when a shell landed on a nearby taxi, killing the driver and a passenger in front of his eyes.
“They both died,” he said, visibly shaken. “The driver was out for his livelihood, his family will be waiting for him,” he said.
Syrian state TV later reported live from the streets of Damascus to show what it called the people’s “steadfastness” despite the shelling. The TV reporter said residents expressed hope that the Syrian army would retake eastern Ghouta.
The UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura decried a recent upsurge in violence, expressing concerns that eastern Ghouta could fall victim to widespread bloodshed like that in northern Aleppo more than a year ago. Assad’s forces captured Aleppo in December 2016 in his biggest victory since the conflict began in March 2011.
“Bottom line: If we have learned something from Aleppo, (it’s) time to actually avoid all this,” de Mistura said.