The latest offensive that the Syrian government troops launched on Eastern Ghouta, a region outside the state’s capital Damascus, has reportedly killed more than 1,700 civilians. The government now controls more than 90 percent of the long-besieged opposition stronghold.
According to the BBC, the last rebel-controlled town in the region is Douma. The United Nations estimates that 70,000 civilians are trapped there. The fighters of the Jaysh al-Islam rebel group that controls the city want to disarm and stay there, but the government’s ally Russia has reportedly ruled that out, BBC reports.
The UN said on 26 March that 80,000 civilians had fled to government-held territory in Damascus, while 20,000 rebels and civilians have been evacuated to rebel territory in the north-western province of Idlib.
The Syrian government denies targeting civilians, saying it is trying to liberate the Eastern Ghouta from terrorists.
