Dozens of mortar bombs targeted the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs of the capital on Wednesday, despite a 48-hour cease-fire announced one day earlier, Reuters reported.
Citing the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Reuters said that at least one person was killed when mortars landed in the last rebel stronghold near the capital.
According to Al Jazeera, the shelling targeted the towns of Douma and Arbin. Reuters said the heavy shelling was accompanied by ground attempts to storm the area.
Wednesday’s attacks come one day after U.N. envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said the Syrian government had accepted a 48-hour truce suggested by Russia.
The Eastern Ghouta region is designated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran as a so-called de-escalation zone.
More than 147 people have been killed by airstrikes and shelling in the region since pro-government forces, backed by Russian warplanes, launched an offensive nearly two weeks ago to reclaim the rebel holdout.
Separately, the U.N. issued a statement on Wednesday warning that levels of famine and severe malnutrition among children in Eastern Ghouta are the highest recorded in the country since the start of the conflict, Agence France-Presse reported.
A November survey conducted by UNICEF in the besieged rebel enclave found that 11.9 percent of children under five struggled with severe malnutrition. This is “the highest rate ever recorded in Syria” since the conflict started, AFP said.
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This article has been adapted from its original source.
