Syria war: Air strikes resume hours after UN approves ceasefire
26 February 2018
Air strikes by the Syrian government on a rebel-held enclave have continued despite a ceasefire resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Saturday. Hundreds of people have died in a week of bombardment of the Eastern Ghouta enclave near the capital, Damascus. The latest attacks include a ground offensive that began hours after the UN urged a 30-day truce "without delay". On Sunday, France and Germany called on Russia to put pressure on the Syrian government to honour the ceasefire. Speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a joint telephone conversation, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have asked for help with implementing the UN resolution. The UN resolution was agreed to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but operations against the biggest jihadist rebel groups are not covered by the truce. The region is the last major rebel-held area near the capital Damascus. Government air strikes took place in the rebel enclave on Sunday - soon after the resolution was agreed in New York, although at far lower level than in previous days. At least three people are reported to have died in the latest attacks, while one rebel group in the Eastern Ghouta said it had killed a number of government soldiers. The strikes targeted the outskirts of Douma, the main town in the Eastern Ghouta, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). It also reported several casualties on both sides after Syrian government forces clashed with rebels in southern areas of the enclave. Syrian forces on the ground are pushing to enter the Eastern Ghouta, both opposition and pro-government sources said on Sunday. The government has been trying to advance on several fronts but its forces have so far been repelled, rebel groups say. Meanwhile, Iran said that while it would "adhere" to the ceasefire, it would continue its military operations in areas around Damascus that were not covered, Reuters news agency reports. "Parts of the suburbs of Damascus, which are specifically controlled by the terrorists of the Nusra Front and other terrorist groups, are not subject to ceasefire," Iran's military chief of staff, Maj Gen Mohammad Baqeri, is quoted as saying. Iran, along with Russia, is a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has played a vital role in enabling him to recapture territory across the country. The Syrian American Medical Society, a relief organisation, told the BBC one of its hospitals in the area had received patients suffering from symptoms that indicated a chemical attack. It said one child had died. Eastern Ghouta resident Mohammed Adel said one of his colleagues had visited the hospital and said the child - a boy - had "suffocated from the chemical attack". The SOHR said it had received similar information but had not yet been able to confirm if there had been a gas attack. The reports could not be independently verified. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. However, a UN report last October concluded that the Syrian government was responsible for a deadly chemical attack in the north-western town of Khan Sheikhoun on 4 April 2017 Rebels operating in the Eastern Ghouta include a variety of factions, and infighting between them has led to past losses of ground to the Syrian government. The draft resolution had said that the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State (IS) group, al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front. The Nusra Front is a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria which leads an alliance of factions under the name of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The Syrian government says its attempts to recapture the Eastern Ghouta are directly due to the HTS presence there. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the situation in the Eastern Ghouta is like "hell on Earth". On Sunday, Pope Francis said the violence was "inhuman" and called for an immediate halt to the deadly bombardment to allow access for humanitarian aid. Barrel bombs and shells have been dropped on the area, where some 393,000 people remain trapped. While hundreds of people are said to have been killed in assaults by government forces since last Sunday, rebels firing on Damascus have reportedly killed at least 16 civilians. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied targeting civilians and said it is trying to liberate the Eastern Ghouta from "terrorists" - a term it has used to describe both the jihadist militants and the mainstream rebel groups that hold the enclave.
Government air strikes took place in the rebel enclave on Sunday - soon after the resolution was agreed in New York, although at far lower level than in previous days. At least three people are reported to have died in the latest attacks, while one rebel group in the Eastern Ghouta said it had killed a number of government soldiers. The strikes targeted the outskirts of Douma, the main town in the Eastern Ghouta, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). It also reported several casualties on both sides after Syrian government forces clashed with rebels in southern areas of the enclave. Syrian forces on the ground are pushing to enter the Eastern Ghouta, both opposition and pro-government sources said on Sunday. The government has been trying to advance on several fronts but its forces have so far been repelled, rebel groups say. Meanwhile, Iran said that while it would "adhere" to the ceasefire, it would continue its military operations in areas around Damascus that were not covered, Reuters news agency reports. "Parts of the suburbs of Damascus, which are specifically controlled by the terrorists of the Nusra Front and other terrorist groups, are not subject to ceasefire," Iran's military chief of staff, Maj Gen Mohammad Baqeri, is quoted as saying. Iran, along with Russia, is a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has played a vital role in enabling him to recapture territory across the country.
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What happened on Sunday?
Rebels operating in the Eastern Ghouta include a variety of factions, and infighting between them has led to past losses of ground to the Syrian government. The draft resolution had said that the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State (IS) group, al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front. The Nusra Front is a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria which leads an alliance of factions under the name of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The Syrian government says its attempts to recapture the Eastern Ghouta are directly due to the HTS presence there.
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Who are the rebels not included in truce?
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the situation in the Eastern Ghouta is like "hell on Earth". On Sunday, Pope Francis said the violence was "inhuman" and called for an immediate halt to the deadly bombardment to allow access for humanitarian aid. Barrel bombs and shells have been dropped on the area, where some 393,000 people remain trapped. While hundreds of people are said to have been killed in assaults by government forces since last Sunday, rebels firing on Damascus have reportedly killed at least 16 civilians. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied targeting civilians and said it is trying to liberate the Eastern Ghouta from "terrorists" - a term it has used to describe both the jihadist militants and the mainstream rebel groups that hold the enclave.
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How bad is the situation in the Eastern Ghouta?