Syrian regime attacks kill 167 civilians in E. Ghouta

By Mohamad Misto

EASTERN GHOUTA, Syria

At least 167 civilians have been killed in past two days by intensified Syrian regime attacks in the Damascus suburbs of Eastern Ghouta, said sources from the Syrian Civil Defense on Tuesday.

Sources from the Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, told Anadolu Agency that regime attack on civilian areas in Eastern Ghouta had killed 88 people on Monday and 79 on Tuesday.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground, the regime forces and their supporters have been intensifying attacks on such areas as Duma, Haresta, Hammuriya, Misraba, Marj, Saqba, Kafr Batna, Ayn Tarma, Shifonia and Beit Sawa since Monday morning.

The death toll is expected to increase as attacks are still continuing in several areas.

Eastern Ghouta falls within a network of de-escalation zones -- endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Nevertheless, the Syrian regime continues to target residential parts of the city, killing at least 539 people -- and injuring more than 2,000 others -- since Dec. 29 of last year.

Home to some 400,000 civilian residents, Eastern Ghouta has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.