Syria war: Thousands flee Eastern Ghouta as army advances

Thousands of civilians are fleeing a town in the besieged rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region outside Syria’s capital, Damascus, as government forces advance.

State television showed pictures of men, women and children carrying bags leaving the town of Hamouria, which has come under intense bombardment.

It is the biggest exodus from the enclave since the military stepped up an offensive to retake it last month.

At the same time, 25 lorries carrying food aid entered the town of Douma.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the aid was just a fraction of what was needed in the Eastern Ghouta, where some 390,000 people are facing severe shortages of food and medical supplies.

More than 1,100 people have been killed since the government and its allies intensified their bombardment of the Eastern Ghouta on 18 February.

In the past week, dramatic advances by soldiers and militiamen have cut the enclave into three pockets: one in the north around Douma controlled by the rebel group Jaysh al-Islam; a second in the south around Hamouria held by Faylaq al-Rahman; and a third in the west around Harasta controlled by Ahrar al-Sham.

A UN-facilitated agreement between Jaysh al-Islam and the government’s key ally Russia saw dozens of sick and wounded people evacuated along with their families from Douma during local “humanitarian pauses” on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But the government’s assault on the southern pocket continued unabated.

BBC