Over 1,300 civilians 'killed' by regime forces in Syria's Eastern Ghouta in 2017
According to a statement posted on its social media account of the White Helmets civil defense agency on Tuesday, as many as 1,337 civilians were killed in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta district in raids conducted by Assad regime forces and and pro-regime forces in 2017.
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 12:00 | 09 January 2018
- Modified Date: 07:11 | 09 January 2018
As many as 1,337 civilians were killed in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta district in attacks by regime forces in 2017, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.
In a statement posted on its social media account on Tuesday, the agency said that the victims also included 12 of its members.
It said Assad regime and pro-regime forces conducted 403 air raids and 7,325 artillery attacks last year.
According to the report, some weapons including barrel bombs and napalm bombs, which have been restricted by international law, were unrelentingly used by the regime and affiliated armed groups in Eastern Ghouta.
Home to some 400,000 inhabitants, Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, has remained under a crippling siege by the Assad regime since late 2012.
It falls within a network of de-escalation zones -- endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.