UPDATES DEATH TOLL, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE
By Adham Kako, Mohamad Misto and Selen Temizer
EASTERN GHOUTA, Syria/ANKARA (AA) – At least 20 civilians have been killed in an airstrike in the town of Kafr Batna in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta district, the White Helmets civil defense agency said late Monday.
Earlier in the day, at least 34 civilians were killed by forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Eastern Ghouta, according to local civil defense sources.
The regime has continued to conduct ground and air attacks in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, despite separate ceasefire initiatives endorsed by Russia and the UN Security Council.
On Saturday, regime forces and allied militias advanced into several opposition-held areas, capturing the town of al-Nashabiya and the villages of Otaya and Hazrama.
Since Feb. 19, at least 810 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta, and the death toll is expected to rise as attacks by the regime continue.
Home to some 400,000 people, Eastern Ghouta has remained under a crippling siege by the Assad regime for the last five years.
Within the last eight months, regime forces have stepped up their siege, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to enter the district and leaving thousands of people in need of medical treatment.
