9 civilians killed by Syrian regime airstrikes

By Mohamed Misto

DAMASCUS

At least nine civilians were killed Thursday in airstrikes perpetrated by Syrian regime warplanes on residential neighborhoods in areas controlled by Syrian opposition in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta district, a suburb of Damascus, civil defense sources told Anadolu Agency.

At least four civilians were killed in the city of Arbin, while one was killed in each of the two cities of Harasta and Douma as well as in each the towns of Mesraba, Al-Hazza and Jesreen, sources from Syrian civil-defense units, also known as the “White Helmets” told Anadolu Agency anonymously due to security concerns.

The airstrikes left dozens of civilians wounded. They have been transported to hospitals in the area, the sources added.

Since the beginning of last week, eastern Ghouta has been under intensive strikes by regime forces that resulted in the killing of more than 70 people in addition to a large number of injured.

The Syrian regime has been stepping up its attacks on Eastern Ghouta, even though the district 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 civil war that began in early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting and more than 10 million displaced, according to claims by the UN.