Fighting has once again surged in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, where the Syrian Army has been trying to displace rebel factions with heavy shelling and airstrikes. Over the past 24 hours, strikes have killed at least 94 people.
The strikes and shelling on the suburb area also wounded 325 people. Many of the casualties were civilians, though exact splits between combatants and bystanders were not available.
In addition to casualties within Ghouta, the rebels fired a series of mortar strikes against Damascus itself, killing a child and wounding eight other people in the area.
The UN complained about the “extreme escalation in hostilities” in the area, saying the Eastern Ghouta humanitarian situation has been worsening precipitously, and many civilians are sheltering in basements to try to avoid getting hit in fighting.
Some parts of Eastern Ghouta have already been cleared of rebels, with the rebel groups evacuated to Idlib. The groups remaining, however, have been there nearly the entire Syrian War, and don’t appear willing to consider evacuation.