According to sources Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel stronghold near Damascus, has been targeted in a fierce government offensive since last week. Meanwhile the President Bashar al-Assad’s forces launched a major bombing campaign against the enclave on the edge of Damascus which has killed more than 500 people.
Sources have reported that the UN Security Council demanded 30 day truce, with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres describing scenes in Eastern Ghouta as “hell on Earth”. But as diplomats argued over the wording of a UN resolution to secure a ceasefire, the bombs kept raining down and further one air strike wiped out members of Omar’s family.
Meanwhile witnesses told the Al Jazeera network that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were attacking rebels on multiple fronts. Syrian warplanes continued their bombardment of Douma, the region’s main town, for the eighth day. Moreover Stephen Hickey, the UK’s representative at the UN, said the council had been arguing ‘over commas’ as Syrian planes were bombing homes and hospitals and Mohamed Alloush, a key figure in Jaish al-Islam, tweeted that rebels were ‘resisting’ attempts by the regime to enter the region.