Fresh Attacks Target East Ghouta in Violation of U.N. Cease-Fire

Renewed attacks on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus killed 14 people on Sunday, including three children, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a war monitor.

Airstrikes and artillery attacks pounded the besieged rebel enclave despite a resolution adopted by the United Nations on Saturday demanding a 30-day cease-fire in Syria to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Sunday’s casualties bring the total death toll to around 530 people killed since the government launched an intensified bombing campaign on the opposition enclave last week, AFP said, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rebel groups on Sunday also reported heavy clashes on several fronts around East Ghouta, where they say government forces are trying to launch a new ground offensive. 13 pro-government fighters and six rebels were reportedly killed in pitched battles in southern parts of the enclave, AFP said.

Citing the SOHR and an unidentified medic, AFP said that one child died and 13 people suffered breathing difficulties as a result of a suspected chemical weapons attack on a suburb in East Ghouta on Sunday. The Russian defense ministry dismissed reports of an alleged chemical weapons attack as “provocation.”

Sunday’s attacks cast doubt on whether the cease-fire resolution would be implemented on the ground.

Iranian general Mohammad Baqeri said Iran and Damascus would respect the U.N. resolution but noted that the agreement did not cover parts of the suburbs of Damascus that are “held by the terrorists.”

“Clean-up (operations) will continue there,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Meanwhile, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to pressure his allies in Damascus into implementing the truce.

They called on Russia “to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting,” Merkel’s office said.

Turkey Shells Afrin Despite U.N. Demand for Syria Truce

Turkish troops shelled the Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Sunday despite a demand by the United Nations for a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, the Associated Press reported.

The Turkish army also captured three villages from the Kurdish YPG militia, the AP said, citing Turkey’s official news agency.

Turkish troops and allied rebels have been fighting the YPG militia in Afrin since they launched “Operation Olive Branch” last month. Turkey views the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has carried out a number of attacks inside Turkey in recent years.

Ankara on Sunday said that the 30-day cease-fire in Syria would not affect operations against the YPG in Afrin, according to AFP.

“We welcome the resolution adopted by the U.N. Security Council in response to the worsening humanitarian situation all across Syria, in particular in Eastern Ghouta,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

But it added that Turkey “will remain resolute in fighting against the terrorist organizations that threaten the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria.”

On Friday Kurdish forces accused Turkey of striking a civilian convoy that entered the Afrin region in northern Syria on late Thursday with food and medicine, Reuters reported.

But Turkey denied targeting any civilians. A statement released by the Turkish military on Friday claimed that the convoy of 30-40 vehicles belonged to the YPG and was “carrying terrorists, weapons and ammunition.”

Coalition Airstrikes Reportedly Kill Dozens in East Syria

Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition reportedly killed 29 people in eastern Syria on Sunday, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported.

The attacks struck the al-Sha’afa and Dharat Allouni regions of Deir Ezzor province, SANA said.

The U.S.-led coalition and its Kurdish partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces, are battling the last remnants of the so-called Islamic State in areas east of the Euphrates river in Deir Ezzor province.

Last week, SANA claimed that coalition warplanes carried out two separate attacks in Deir Ezzor province within 48 hours, killing around 28 people.

Recommended Reads:

• The Washington Post: The Syrian Conundrum: A Shared End Goal, but How to Get There?
• The Guardian: Syria’s Return to Bombing-as-Usual Is Down to Russia
• The Financial Times: The Threat of Regional Conflagration in Syria
• BBC: Syria War: Who Are Russia’s Shadowy Wagner Mercenaries?
• Al-Monitor: Satterfield’s Shuttle Diplomacy May Offer Diplomatic Opening for Syria