Residents of Syria’s eastern Ghouta district said they were waiting their “turn to die” on Wednesday, amid one of the most intense bombardments of the war by pro-government forces on the besieged, rebel-held enclave near Damascus.
At least 38 people died on Wednesday. At least 310 people have been killed in the district since Sunday night and more than 1,550 injured, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
Massive escalation
A massive escalation in bombardment, including rocket fire, shelling, air strikes and helicopter-dropped barrel bombs, since Sunday has become one of the deadliest of the Syrian civil war, now entering its eighth year.
“We are waiting our turn to die. This is the only thing I can say,” said Bilal Abu Salah, 22, whose wife is five months pregnant with their first child in the biggest eastern Ghouta town Douma.
“Nearly all people living here live in shelters now. There are five or six families in one home. There is no food, no markets,” he said.
An air strike warning system run by the Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service in opposition areas, was by Wednesday afternoon sending alerts every few minutes, triggered when warplanes are spotted taking off from air bases.
The United Nations has denounced the bombardment, which has struck hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, saying such attacks could be war crimes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an “immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta”. Speaking to the UN Security Council Guterres said residents were living in “hell on earth”.
UN resolution
Mr. Guterres expressed support for a Swedish and Kuwaiti push for the 15-member council to demand a 30-day ceasefire in Syria. Diplomats said that the council could vote on a draft resolution in the coming days. But Mr. Assad’s veto-wielding ally Russia has called the proposal “not realistic”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday described as “groundless” accusations that Russia bears some of the blame for civilian deaths in eastern Ghouta.
A commander in the coalition fighting on behalf of Mr. Assad’s government said that the bombing aims to prevent the rebels from targeting the eastern neighbourhoods of Damascus with mortars. It may be followed by a ground campaign.
