Dozens Killed as Syrian Airstrikes Pound Rebel Enclave

UN Pushes for New Truce as Death Toll Soars

The UN is urging all sides to agree to a ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta after a flurry of Syrian military airstrikes against the district are leading to a soaring number of casualties, many of them civilians.

The tiny rebel enclave is the last in metro Damascus still under rebel control. The territory is shrinking with intense strikes and intermittent military offensives. Tuesday’s strikes killed at least 55 people, and 70 according to some reports.

This puts the two-day death toll at nearly 100 killed in the tiny region, and no signs of slowing, with the remaining rebel towns seemingly sitting ducks for continued strikes, but also unwilling to negotiate the same evacuation deals everyone else in the area has ultimately agreed to.

In the end, it’s not clear how long the rebels in this area can possibly hold out, and with the Syrian military also engaged in an offensive in northern Idlib, it’s not clear they’re going to have any place to go if they ultimately lose this fight.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.