The Syrian government’s assault on East Ghouta has accumulated over 300 civilian casualties in four days since its initial bombardment on February 18th, 2018.
East Ghouta, Syria
The Syrian Civil War has continued to result in deaths of unrelated civilians in East Ghouta. Located near Damascus, Syria’s capital city, East Ghouta is home to a rebel stronghold. It has been under government siege since 2013, and numerous attacks were made on the land including the Ghouta Chemical Attack which killed over 1,700 people. Ghouta was home to two million people before the Syrian Civil War began, but now only 400,000 reside in the area.
Recent Attacks on East Ghouta
Journalists from around the world have described the current situation in East Ghouta as “catastrophic.” The Guardian reported that 700 civilians were killed in East Ghouta during the recent three months excluding the hundreds of deaths that occurred in the past few days. The recent assault in East Ghouta started after several Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces in Syria collapsed on February 13th, resulting in surplus military forces. The Syrian government took the offensive against the rebels in Ghouta and initiated airstrikes with the Russian Air Force on February 18th. As of February 21st, only the fourth day since the initial attack, the accumulated numbers of victims reached 300 deaths including 50 children, and 1200 injuries. Moreover, crossfire is not the only worry to the citizens of East Ghouta. The Syrian government has been tightening the siege on Ghouta over the last year. Food is insufficient in Ghouta and local bread prices are now 22 times higher than the national average. Lack of medical support is also a major problem as hospitals are becoming targets of the attack. Meanwhile, the commander of the Syrian army hinted on more attacks to come; ground forces will join the airstrike in the next phase of the attack.