DAMASCUS: Bombardments by Syrian government forces have killed scores of civilians in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area outside Damascus, monitors say.
If confirmed, it would make Monday one of the deadliest days for the district since it came under siege in 2013.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least 100 civilians, including 20 children, were killed by rockets and air strikes. Syrian forces stepped up an offensive to retake the area earlier this month.
The SOHR said 470 people had been injured, some critically. Urging a halt to the bombardment, a UN official said the situation was spiralling out of control.
The Eastern Ghouta is the last remaining opposition-held enclave near the capital and is completely surrounded by areas under government control.
Last week the Eastern Ghouta, home to almost 400,000 people, received its first aid delivery in almost three months.
Meanwhile, Turkey warned the Syrian government not to help Kurds fighting against Turkish forces in northern Syria.
The attacks on the Eastern Ghouta area since Sunday have hit not only civilians but also their means of survival, targeting bakeries, warehouses and anything else that may hold food supplies.
It is the worst single day of bombing that people there have seen in years. People are fearful of it becoming another Aleppo scenario.
Aid workers say the attacks targeted major roads in the area, which will block any aid or rescue operation and hinder the movement of ambulances.
The death toll is rising because medical facilities were also hit. Four makeshift hospitals, including a maternity facility, were struck on Monday. The rebels have been responding with mortar attacks on Damascus but the government’s military might is far stronger.
