19 March 2018•Update: 20 March 2018
By Mohamad Misto
EASTERN GHOUTA, Syria / ANKARA, Turkey
At least 19 civilians were killed in Bashar al-Assad regime’s airstrikes and attacks in besieged Eastern Ghouta on Monday, according to Syria’s civil defense agency.
The regime’s continued ground and air attacks on Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, came despite separate cease-fire initiatives endorsed by Russia and the UN Security Council.
The air strike with chopper targeted Eastern Ghouta's Douma district, leaving seven people dead -- including one child.
At least 12 more civilians were killed in separate attacks by regime forces in Ayn Terma, Haresta and Arbin districts of Eastern Ghouta.
Since Feb. 19, nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta, and the death toll is expected to rise further as attacks by the regime remain ongoing.
Home to some 400,000 people, Eastern Ghouta has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years.
Over the last eight months, the regime has stepped up its siege, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to enter the district and leaving thousands of civilians in dire need.
