Syria: 100 civilians, including 20 kids killed in Eastern Ghouta strikes

Damascus, February 20: In what can be called a tragedy, around 100 civilians including 20 kids have been killed in shelling and airstrikes in Syria. Several rebel groups operate in the Eastern Ghouta, but it is dominated by the Islamist faction Jaish al-Islam.

The Eastern Ghouta is the last major opposition enclave near the capital and is completely surrounded by areas under government control.

Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network, reports that civilians have been killed and wounded in fresh air strikes on Douma, Misraba and al-Nashabiya.

The White Helmets, a rescue group, said three people were killed in Misraba and four were killed in al-Marj on Tuesday.

The UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and the White Helmets both said more than 100 people had died in bombing on Monday.

Urging a halt to the bombardment, a UN official said the situation was spiralling out of control. Last week the Eastern Ghouta, home to almost 400,000 people, received its first aid delivery in almost three months.

It is an agricultural belt, about 15km (nine miles) east from Damascus city centre. The area is made up of 22 communities. It has been designated a "de-escalation zone" by Russia and Iran, the Syrian government's main allies, along with Turkey, which backs the opposition.