Syria regime bombardment kills 16 civilians in Eastern Ghouta- war monitor

The enclave near Damascus Eastern Ghouta has been under government siege since 2013

epa06458930 Volunteers of the White Helmets react during the funeral of a killed colleague named 28-years old Mohammed Buidany, who died during his job earlier in the day, after shelling on Douma, Syria, 20 January 2018. According to reports, 15 people were killed in eastern al-Ghouta Douma shelling, including Mohammed al-Buidany, a volunteer of Syrian civil defense organization White Helmets.  EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA
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A Syrian government bombardment killed 16 civilians on Saturday across the besieged opposition enclave of Eastern Ghouta, a monitor group said.

Eastern Ghouta has been under government siege since 2013 and its estimated 400,000 inhabitants are suffering severe shortages of food and medicine.

On Saturday, a barrage of Syrian artillery fire hit a market in the main Eastern Ghouta town of Douma, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Nine people were killed, including a woman," the British-based war monitor said.

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Another six civilians were killed in artillery fire on the towns of Hammuriyeh, Arbeen and al-Marj. Syrian air strikes killed a child in the town of Zamalka.

The United Nations has said some 500 people are in critical condition inside Eastern Ghouta and need to be evacuated for urgent medical treatment.

Twenty-nine patients, mainly children, were allowed out in December to get treatment under a deal struck between the regime and rebels, but several have already returned.

Eastern Ghouta was one of four "de-escalation zones" agreed under a deal agreed last year between rebel backer Turkey and regime allies Iran and Russia.

But the opposition stronghold remains the target of intense air strikes and a crippling government siege.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests against the government but has since evolved into a ferocious civil war.