International Concern Grows Over Eastern Ghouta

Concern over Syrian government attacks on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus grew on Tuesday as the number of casualties in the suburb rose, with more than 250 people killed since Sunday night.

This marks the highest 48-hour death toll in Eastern Ghouta since a 2013 chemical weapons attack targeted the besieged rebel enclave east of the capital.

A spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General said in a statement that the U.N. is “deeply alarmed by the escalating situation in Eastern Ghouta and its devastating impact on civilians.”

Meanwhile, the U.N. children’s agency issued a blank statement. It said it has run out of words “to describe children’s suffering and our outrage,” according to Reuters.

“Do those inflicting the suffering still have words to justify their barbaric acts?” said the release from UNICEF’s regional director, Geert Cappalaere.

France joined the international community in condemning the attacks on Eastern Ghouta, saying they amounted to a serious violation of international law, according to Reuters.

The attacks “deliberately target inhabited areas and civilian infrastructure, including medical ones. They constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. also voiced concern over the increasing violence in the area.

“The escalation has exacerbated the already grave human suffering,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said, according to the Voice of America. “It also increases the number of individuals who require urgent medical evacuation, which already stood at approximately 1,000.”

Erdogan: Turkey Thwarted Deployment of Pro-Government Troops

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Ankara has thwarted the deployment of pro-government forces in Syria’s Afrin district, according to the Associated Press.

His comments came shortly after a convoy of pro-government forces entered the Kurdish enclave to help the Kurdish YPG militia fend off an onslaught by Turkish troops and allied rebels.

The convoy of a dozen vehicles was “forced to turn back” following shelling by the Turkish military, Erdogan said during a joint conference with his Macedonian counterpart, according to the AP. “That file has been closed for now,” he added.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency claimed that pro-government forces had turned back some 6 miles (10 km) from Afrin after the Turkish army launched “warning shots” in the region.

Erdogan on Tuesday also threatened to besiege Afrin city in the “coming days” so that “external aid coming to the city and the region gets cut,” according to Anadolu.

Russia Confirms Several Dozen of Its Citizens Wounded in Syria

The Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday acknowledged that several dozens of its citizens had been wounded in recent clashes in Syria, according to Reuters.

The statement comes one week after a Reuters report alleged that more than 300 private Russian military contractors were either killed or injured during clashes between the U.S.-led coalition and pro-government forces in Deir Ezzor province on February 7.

The Russian foreign ministry acknowledged for the first time last week that five of its citizens may have been killed in the confrontation, while dismissing reports of a higher death toll.

However, on Tuesday it said that dozens of citizens from Russia and former Soviet countries had been wounded, while clarifying that no Russian soldier was involved in the clash. The statement also said that some of them had been killed, without providing a new death toll.

The statement did not confirm that those killed were working for a Kremlin-linked private military contractor. Instead, it said that “there are Russian citizens in Syria who have traveled there on their own initiative and with different aims.”

It added, “It is not the place of the foreign ministry to assess the legality and legitimacy of their decisions.”

Recommended Reads:

• The Washington Post: The Desperate Images From One of Syria’s Bloodiest Days
• Brookings: The Struggle for Syria, Chapter Two
• Bloomberg: Risk of Syrian Clash With Turkey Rises as Forces Enter Afrin
• The Washington Post: Turkey and Iran Face Off in a New Battle in Syria
• BBC: Viewpoint: Chemical Weapons ‘Threat to West’