09 February 2018•Update: 09 February 2018
By Ecenur Colak
ROME
Italy on Thursday condemned the Syrian regime's attacks on civilians in Syria's Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.
"I firmly condemn the indiscriminate bombing the regime is carrying out against defenseless people and civilian infrastructure," said a statement by Angelino Alfano, Italy's Foreign Minister.
"I wish to voice my deep concern over the deterioration of the situation in Syria," he added.
Additionally the statement said that Italy "sides with the United Nations and the International Red Cross in demanding the granting of immediate humanitarian access to the people under siege in Syria in the eastern Ghouta region".
The Syrian regime forces have been conducting intensified airstrikes on the region since Thursday morning.
Located in the outskirt of the capital Damascus, Eastern Ghouta was declared a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are forbidden.
The Syrian regime, however, has repeatedly violated the deal and has targeted residential areas in the city killing a total of 524 people and leaving around 2,000 others injured since Dec. 29, 2017.
Home to roughly 400,000 residents, Eastern Ghouta has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.
