Heavy shelling and rocket fire against the Eastern Ghouta region, a rebel-held suburb of Damascus, killed at least 45 civilians yesterday.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes coincided with multiple surface-to-surface missile attacks in the area, which were carried out by members of the Syrian Arab Army loyal to embattled president Bashar al-Assad.
In separate developments, Syrian and Russian warplanes heavily pounded positions of the terrorists in the areas of Douma, Ain Terma, and Saqba in the outskirts of Damascus, leaving scores of the militants dead and injured.
The advances of the Syrian government forces against Daesh and other terrorist groups have been expedited by the air cover provided by Russian Federation, which began on September 30 at the request of the Damascus government.
Syria’s state news agency Sana said residential parts of Damascus were subject to a strong sustained volley of mortar fire early on Sunday, shaking people out of bed.
The Observatory reported that 40 shells hit Damascus on Sunday.
After a meeting with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, O’Brien said he was pursuing efforts to have humanitarian aid reach all Syrian people. Al-Moallem, based on SANA, accentuated the need for reconciliation and local truces to assist in that respect.
An inconsistent death toll is a common problem amid the chaos of war-ravaged Syria, where somewhere between 200,000-400,000 people have been killed in a conflict that has last close to five years, and continues to escalate on an nearly daily basis.
This week, the Syrian opposition said it was ready to attend negotiations under United Nations auspices with representatives from Assad’s government.
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Fighting on the ground in Syria has intensified even as the worldwide community makes its most serious push yet to restart peace talks between government officials and opposition representatives.
