EASTERN GHOUTA: A day of airstrikes in the Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta killed at least 17 civilians, while collective strikes over the last week and a half have left 10 medical facilities damaged, according to groups working in the region.
The White Helmets volunteer rescue group reported dozens of airstrikes in the area on Saturday, saying that four children were among the dead and 40 more people were injured.
It said the government airstrikes, backed by Russian air power, had begun nine days ago. The latest strikes come as the government steps up its offensive against the country’s last rebel-held areas.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitor of the conflict, also reported the death toll of 17, adding that Syrian and Russian aircraft had targeted several residential areas. The monitor said that a coalition of rebels and jihadists had surrounded the only Syrian-regime base in the enclave several days ago.
Video provided by the White Helmets shows rescuers digging through mounds of rubble to reach a man, and in a separate video, they dig to recover a little girl.
In other footage, residents are heard screaming as they try to escape heavily damaged buildings, and the injured are seen being laid on stretchers and loaded into the back of vans to be taken away for treatment.
