DAMASCUS/BRUSSELS
At least 60 people were killed and scores injured on Wednesday in multiple airstrikes by the Syrian regime on a town in Damascus’ opposition-held Eastern Ghouta suburb, according to a local medical source.
The source, who works at a local field hospital, told Anadolu Agency that Syrian warplanes had targeted Douma, the largest town in Eastern Ghouta.
A number of buildings were destroyed by the airstrikes, he said, while at least 60 people were killed and around 200 were injured.
EU condemns killing of Syrian civilians
Meanwhile, the European Commission on Wednesday condemned the killing of civilians in Syria as the civil war enters its fifth year.
When asked to comment on the reported killings of dozens of civilians amid U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Daesh in the town of Atmeh, outside the northern Syrian city of Idlib on Tuesday, the European Commission spokesman Alexander Polack said: "We condemn all the casualties and all the loss of lives."
"We want to reiterate that a lasting solution urgently requires a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition based on the Geneva communiqué," .
"We encourage all members of the international community with influence of the Syrian parties to take special responsibility," Polack told a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied media reports that aircraft taking off from Incirlik took part in U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition airstrikes overnight on Atmeh.
"No manned and unmanned aircraft using the Incirlik Air Base participated in yesterday's air operation carried out by the coalition forces," the ministry said.
Syria’s ongoing conflict, which has left the country divided between warring factions, began in early 2011 when the Assad regime responded with unexpected ferocity to protests that erupted as part of the “Arab Spring” uprisings.
Since then, roughly half of the country’s population has been displaced by the violence, with nearly four million Syrians now seeking refuge in neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
The conflict has left more than 220,000 people dead to date, according to UN figures.
