GHOUTA: Fifteen children have been killed in an air strike on a school shelter in eastern Ghouta, as Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad touted his army’s success in the region in a remarkable series of Facebook videos.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said planes believed to be Russian hit the school shelter in eastern Ghouta, which was being used by civilians. “Usually regime planes do not fly at night, but Russian warplanes do,” said activist Nour Adam.
Two woman also died while 52 people were injured in the strike, which took place in a rebel-held area on the outskirts of Syria’s capital, Damascus.
The enclave has been a rebel stronghold since 2012. Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power began a major operation to retake Eastern Ghouta a month ago.
Activists in the area described the scene as “horrific” and said the bodies of small children were everywhere.
The death toll was likely to increase as some of the injured have serious wounds, Observatory head Rami Abdel-Rahman told DPA.
“Those people were hiding in the basement of the school thinking schools will not be hit, but for this tyrant (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) and his allies the Russians, there are no safe areas inside eastern Ghouta, all for them are terrorists, even the children,” Abdel-Rahman said.
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