Syria 鈥榙e-escalation zone鈥� sees civilians buried under the rubble

Hasan Mohammed | AFP
Syrian children sit at a makeshift clinic following reported shelling by Syrian government forces, in the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria鈥檚 eastern Ghouta region, on Nov. 17, 2017. Shelling by the Syrian regime on the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, which has been besieged since 2013 and where humanitarian conditions are dire, killed at least 10 civilians, among them six children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The deaths were the result of the latest bout in an escalating cycle of tit-for-tat attacks between regime forces and the rebels holding the enclave on the Syrian capital鈥檚 eastern outskirts. (AFP/Hamza Al-Ajweh)

DOUMA, Syria: Entire families have been buried under the rubble in a rebel-held enclave near Syria鈥檚 capital, as government forces pursue a nearly week-long campaign against the area despite a de-escalation deal.
The violence aims to further weaken rebels in their last stronghold near Damascus, analysts said, as Russia, Iran and Turkey launch a diplomatic dash to resolve Syria鈥檚 grinding six-year conflict.
The three countries agreed earlier this year to establish de-escalation zones aimed at reducing hostilities in four battleground areas across Syria.
One such zone came into effect in Eastern Ghouta in July, but after months of relative calm, intense artillery fire and air strikes have pummelled the region for the past week.
Residents of the opposition stronghold have described living in utter terror.
鈥淲e鈥檙e forced to hide in parts of our home that aren鈥檛 suitable for living, like the bathroom and the kitchen,鈥� said 28-year-old Majed.
鈥淲e even sleep there sometimes.鈥�
The father of two lives in Douma, one of the largest towns in Eastern Ghouta and a regular target of regime raids.
Despite his wife鈥檚 efforts to create a normal life for their children, their four-year-old son has been left deeply scarred.
鈥淲hen he hears the bombing, he runs to hide in the closet or behind the door, screaming, 鈥楾he plane, the plane is attacking鈥�,鈥� Majed told AFP.
Since Tuesday, government bombardment of Eastern Ghouta has killed at least 80 civilians including 14 children, and wounded hundreds more, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In Douma on Sunday, an AFP journalist witnessed doctors rushing to treat wailing children lying on bloodstained hospital beds.
Their eyes wide with fear, children awaited life-saving care, many having had limbs pierced by shrapnel.
Nearby, two men mourned over the lifeless body of a child, wrapped in a red-and-white sheet on the floor.
An estimated 400,000 people live in Eastern Ghouta, where a four-year government siege has made food, medicine, and other basic necessities either unavailable or too expensive.
Regime forces began their bomb assault there last week, after hard-line rebel group Ahrar Al-Sham attacked a military base in the nearby town of Harasta.
Rebel rocket fire on Damascus has also killed at least 16 people since Thursday, the Observatory said.
鈥淩egime forces used the rebel offensive on Harasta as a pretext to target all of Eastern Ghouta,鈥� said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
He said government troops were trying to 鈥渢urn the rebels鈥� popular base against them.鈥�
The presidents of rebel backer Turkey and of regime allies Iran and Russia will meet in the city of Sochi on Wednesday to discuss reducing violence and boosting aid deliveries.
But analysts say the Eastern Ghouta hostilities have marred the de-escalation deal touted by the three countries.
Nawar Oliver of the Turkey-based Omran Center think tank said the Eastern Ghouta zone 鈥渋s not over, but it鈥檚 hit a big obstacle.鈥�
鈥淥bviously, the de-escalation deal in the Ghouta isn鈥檛 going too well,鈥� said Aron Lund, a fellow with The Century Foundation.
Syria鈥檚 government had long eyed Eastern Ghouta, viewing the enclave as 鈥渢oo close to the capital to be left like this,鈥� he said.
Rebels had 鈥渓ittle chance鈥� of surviving the assault, said Lund.

In the rebel-held town of Madira on Sunday, volunteers from the White Helmets rescue force climbed through the rubble of a building after a recent air strike.
Flashlights in hand, they scrambled over concrete blocks and metal rods to try to find the bodies of the family that had been living there.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e six people. We found three, and three are left,鈥� one volunteer said.
One volunteer dug into the rubble with a wooden stick and uncovered a limb, which he placed carefully in a white bag.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a child鈥檚 leg,鈥� his colleague said.
Another volunteer said the air strike had hit 鈥渁 bomb shelter that residents were hiding in since the evening call to prayer.鈥�
鈥淭here are a lot of body parts,鈥� he added.
According to the Observatory, the six-member family 鈥� a man, his wife, and their four children 鈥� all died in the bombardment.
After regime shelling on Douma earlier that week, paramedic Firas Al-Kahhal said he had witnessed a haunting scene.
The 22-year-old was dispatched to the bombed-out home to search for any survivors.
鈥淎s soon as we entered I saw a baby girl, no more than eight months old, trying to crawl out of the rubble,鈥� Kahhal told AFP.
The infant had suffered wounds to her head, but survived.
鈥淲hat we saw was heartbreaking. She lived under shelling and terror. Her brain can鈥檛 even absorb what鈥檚 happening.鈥�

Topics: Damascus Syria Douma