Syria: Regime attacks kill 25 in Eastern Ghouta

By Adham Kako

DAMASCUS

At least 25 civilians, including five children, were killed Sunday in Syrian regime attacks in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of the capital Damascus.

The attacks targeted the opposition-held residential neighborhoods of Douma, Misraba, Ein Tarma, Medeira, and Harasta, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter on the scene.

Sixteen civilians, including three children, were killed in Misraba, medical sources said, citing anonymity over safety concerns.

Seven people, including two children, were also killed in Medeira and two others in Douma, the sources added.

The death toll is feared to rise as many people were injured in the attacks.

Since Nov. 14, Eastern Ghouta has been under intensive strikes by regime forces that have left more than 100 people dead and hundreds 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 fell into a devastating civil war in 2011 when the Bashar al-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 the UN.