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300 Syrian Civilians Killed, 1700 Injured, in Eastern Ghoutah by Regime, Russian, and Iranian Forces

February 22, 2018 

Editor's Note:

The following news stories are just examples of the daily horrors of war in Syria. Readers can find more detailed daily news stories at the sources below as well as many other sources in the internet. 

 

Site of the Syrian regime shelling of Dara'a, February 20, 2018

  

The following are news stories from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) website (http://www.syriahr.com/en/):

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155 were killed yesterday including 4 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and 146 civilians

SOHR, 21/02/2018

In Rif Dimashq Province 133 citizens were killed, they are 128 citizens including 29 children and 16 women, were killed in aerial and artillery shelling on the areas of al-Nashabiyah, Otaya, Douma, Arbin, Zamalka, Mesraba, Mesraba, Ashari, and 5 citizens including a child, a woman and 2 brothers were killed in the fall shells on areas in Jaramana Suburb.

In Damascus Province at least 11 people including 3 children and a woman were killed as a result of targeting areas in the center of Damascus and its outskirts.

In Homs province a woman was killed in shelling by the Syria Democratic Forces on areas in Sijraz Gharbi west of Azaz city in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

In Hama Province a displaced child from Zor El-Haysa village was killed in shelling by the regime forces in the vicinity of al-Zakat village in the northern countryside of Hama.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also learned that 2 fighters of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham were killed in shelling by the regime forces on areas in Qnitrat village in the southern countryside of Hama.

And 4 members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen were killed as a result of the shelling and clashes with the “Islamic State” organization and the factions.

At least 3 fighters of the “Islamic State” organization and the factions of non-Syrian nationalities were killed in clashes and shelling of warplanes and helicopters and shelling on their areas of presence.

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Renewed shelling target areas in the eastern and central countryside of Daraa and continuous assassinations in the countryside of Daraa and shells target the countryside of Idlib

SOHR, 21/02/2018

Daraa Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: areas in the eastern countryside of Daraa were shelled by the regime forces, also the regime forces opened heavy machineguns’ fire on areas in the central countryside of Daraa, the regime forces also shelled areas in Daraa al-Balad in Daraa city with several rocket shells, also the factions targeted areas controlled by the regime forces in Daraa al-Balad, which caused material damage, but no information about injuries, while unidentified gunmen assassinated a “Sharia” man of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, by targeting him in the Western Al-Gharya area, within the series of assassination in Daraa Province, also a fighter –who is the son of a dissident Brigadier- was injured after being targeted by an IED planted by unidentified people in his car, which caused material damage too, while the clashes described as violent are still taking place between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them against the rebel and Islamic factions in areas in Daraa city, amid exchange of targeting in the clash areas between both parties.

Idlib Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: explosions were heard in the northeastern countryside of Idlib, caused by the fall of shells on areas at the outskirts of the towns of Al-Fu’ah and Kafriya, which are inhabited by Shiite people, which caused material damage but no information about casualties.

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 In 4 consecutive days, the besieged Ghouta witnesses the death and injury of more than 2000 civilians, and the destruction of 9 medical centers amid increasing tragedy of people, loss of food and medicine

SOHR, 21/02/2018

Rif Dimashq Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the aerial and ground shelling coincided with to target areas in the besieged Ghouta, which has been witnessing since the evening of last Sunday a continuous fierce onslaught by the regime forces and allies, in preparation for a wide military operation led by the regime forces under the leadership of the Brigadier General Suhail al-Hassan, the aim of which is to control the area, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored targeting by regime’s helicopters this evening for areas in Harasta city by 4 barrel bombs, followed by dropping barrel bombs on Madyara and Douma, amid the bombardment of warplanes on areas in Ein Tarma town and other places in the towns of Otaya and KafrBatna, and other areas in the cities of Harasta, Douma, Hamuriya and Jesrin, where the renewed shelling caused the death of 4 citizens and injured about 20 others, raising to 314, including 72 children and 45 women, the number of martyrs documented by the SOHR since Sunday evening the 18th of February 2018, and the casualties are: 42 citizens including 4 children and 3 women, were killed in bombardment by helicopters by explosive barrels on Kafr Batna town and airstrikes on Jesrin town, 128 citizens including 29 children and 16 women were killed on Tuesday, in the shelling on the areas of Nashabiyah, Otaya, Arbin, Zamalka Mesraba, Hamuriya, and Ash’ari, 127 citizens including 34 children and 23 women were killed on Monday, in the aerial and ground bombardment on Hamuriya, Beit Sawa and Saqba, Douma , Mesraba, Otaya, Nashabiyah, Zamalka, Aftries, KafrBatna, Al-Shifonyyah and Jesrin, 17 citizens including 5 children and 3 citizen women were killed on the evening of Sunday, in aerial, missile and artillery bombardments on Saqba, Mesraba, Otaya and Ashari area.

Also the shelling has injured about 1700 civilians with varying severity, some of whom are in serious conditions, which may increase the death toll, in addition to the presence of dead bodies under the rubbles caused by the artillery and aerial shelling on the Ghouta.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored a decrease in the chances for the wounded to receive treatment, or even rescue the critical cases, due to the fierce and savage shelling, which cause 3 medical points to be out of service in Douma city and Madyara city by barrel bombs of helicopters, and in Jesrin by warplanes’ bombardment, raising to 9, the number of hospitals and medical points that went out of service until now, which are –in addition to the aforementioned medical points- : a medical point in Beit Sawa, Dar Al-Shifaa Hospital in Hamuriya, a medical point in Kafr Batna, Arbin Surgical Hospital in Arbin city, and 2 other hospitals in Saqba, and got them all out of service, to decrease the ability of medical capacity even more, and crowd the places with the wounded who flock as a result of intensive and continuous shelling by the regime forces,  led by the Brigadier Suhail Al-Hassan, which paves the way for a wide military operation in the Eastern Ghouta, through which the regime forces aim to regain the control of it, this tragic medical reality comes with the absence of full sections in the Eastern Ghouta as a result of the lack of the specialists, where there is only one doctor for each of the specialties of vascular surgery and neurosurgery, while there are no doctors specialized in internal and heart diseases, while there is one doctor at least for gynecological diseases, who came from the east of the capital Damascus after the regime forces took the control of the neighborhoods of the east of Damascus, and after the only doctor specialized in gynecological diseases was killed during the fighting between Al-Rahman Corps and Jaysh Al-Islam in April 2016, and this tragic reality comes with the shortage of many medicines including antibiotics, antipyretics, and other medicines needed for emergency aid.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published today morning that there is no place for resentment against the insanity and hysteria of the murderers of people of the besieged Ghouta, as there is no time today for its towns and cities except for death, where those who did not die by shelling would die by another way, and they are many, from a sniper bullet to shelling by mortar, artillery, tanks shells, rocket launchers, missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, to the airstrikes, a new killer, the death by explosive barrels, is added, thus, this new killer gave the chance unleashed the deadly trio in the Eastern Ghouta, to overdo in killing its people, increasing the suffering of the Eastern Ghouta and increasing its tragedy, and the cries of the residents reached the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights complaining the horror of the shelling, where one of them told the Syrian Observatory saying “those who were not killed by the regime’s missiles, the shells and raids by its warplanes as well as the Russian strikes…will be killed by hunger”, and the local and medic sources described the situation as catastrophic, where the shops were closed, and the shelling did not leave a save place for the citizens even in their homes, thus, hunger started to infiltrate to children, and the lack of food increased and doubled the suffering of the patients, after the successive destruction of medical points and hospitals in the eastern Ghouta.

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The following are news stories from the US Department of Defense website (http://www.defense.gov/News) :

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US OIR Officials Report Details of Defeat-ISIS Strikes in Syria, Iraq

From a (US) Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 16, 2018 —

Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continued to strike Islamic State of Iraq and Syria targets in designated parts of Syria and Iraq between Feb. 9-15, conducting 43 strikes consisting of 63 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Strikes in Syria

Yesterday in Syria, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of five engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS supply route, a staging area and a weapons cache.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

On Feb. 14, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS outpost.

On Feb. 13, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of six engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes suppressed two ISIS maneuver elements and destroyed a fighting position, a heavy machine gun and an artillery system.

On Feb. 12, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, nine strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; suppressed an ISIS maneuver element; and destroyed two artillery systems, a tactical vehicle, a heavy machine gun, two ISIS supply routes, a fighting position and a command-and-control center.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed two ISIS fighting positions.

On Feb. 11, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 11 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, an ISIS-held building, a command-and-control center, three tactical vehicles and two ISIS-supply routes.

On Feb. 10, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 11 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, eight strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and destroyed two command and control centers, a fighting position, an ISIS-held building, a weapons cache, an ISIS motorcycle and a mortar tube.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike engaged two tactical units of hostile forces and destroyed a tank.

On Feb. 9, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and damaged an ISIS-held building.

Additional Strikes in Syria

On Feb. 8, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement near Raqqa, engaging an ISIS tactical unit.

On Jan. 31, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement near Shadaddi, destroying an ISIS rocket fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

On Feb. 15, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets near Rutbah. The strike destroyed an ISIS weapons cache.

On Feb. 14, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets near Beiji. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS facility.

There were no reported strikes in Iraq on Feb. 12-13.

On Feb. 11, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Tal Afar. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS tunnel.

There were no reported strikes in Iraq on Feb. 9-10.

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