Over 1,300 civilians 'killed' in Syria's E. Ghouta

By Adham Kako

ANKARA

As many as 1,337 civilians were killed in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta district in attacks by regime forces in 2017, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

In a statement posted on its social media account on Tuesday, the agency said that the victims also included 12 of its members.

It said Assad regime and pro-regime forces conducted 403 air raids and 7,325 artillery attacks last year.

According to the report, some weapons including barrel bombs and napalm bombs, which have been restricted by international law, were unrelentingly used by the regime and affiliated armed groups in Eastern Ghouta.

Home to some 400,000 inhabitants, Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, has remained under a crippling siege by the Assad regime since late 2012.

It falls within a network of de-escalation zones -- endorsed by Turkey, Russia Iran -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.