Air strikes again Hit East Ghouta, Thousands of People Fled
East Ghouta - Massive air strikes resumed in East Ghouta on Saturday, March 17, 2018. A region thought to be one of the main base of local rebels.
The local government, along with several volunteer groups, has been trying to escort the evacuation of the East Ghouta area.
Reporting from CNN on Sunday (18/3/2018), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 12,000 people have been displaced in recent days. Meanwhile, the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, said that the number of refugees was recorded at more than 40,000 people.
Several photographs and video shows appearing in the mass media, showing hundreds of civilians - some holding children in hand - rushed to flee safer areas outside Ghouta.
Red Crescent members are working to coordinate East Ghouta residents in one lane, to safer temporary shelters.
The Eastern Ghouta area has been the target since 2012. However, just a while ago, the Syrian military began to move forward through villages in the east, before then splitting the rebel areas in the suburbs into three parts, last week.
The air strikes were carried out with Russian backing, but contrary to UN calls for a ceasefire.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy to Syria, on Friday called the air strike a "terrible situation" for civilians in East Ghouta.
"Even for experienced people, such as humanitarian volunteers in charge, for example, (the attack) is a critical situation, where people like being in the horns, difficulty determining the fate of his life in the next day," said Mistura.
Moreover, Mistura urges troops on both sides, the Syrian military and the rebels, to let the refugees safely walk safely.
Turkey Denies attacking Hospital buildings
Two Turkish military groups fighting Syrian militants met in northern Afrin on Saturday, according to the Turkish government news agency Anadolu.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey lost many troops, but also argued that many "terrorists" were either killed or captured.
"We are patient and confident to achieve victory, and we are just beginning to prove it," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey, in its capacity as a member of NATO, launched a military operation under the name 'Operation Branch Olive' on 20 January.
The operation targeted a Kurdish rebel group located north of Syria, bordering Turkey. Its main purpose is to clear the province of Afrin from the danger of the development of terrorist organizations.
Since then, both combats have often been fierce, and almost always claimed lives among civilians.
The head of a major hospital in Afrin said as many as nine people were killed when the health-care facility was bombed this week.
"The situation is very bad, there are reports of dozens of bodies attempted to get out of Afrin, and many people look frantically running away from the attack," said Dr. Jawan Muhammed, head of the hospital.
Turkey has denied bombing the hospital and released a video - which officials say - shows a hospital building in good shape.
However, according to one of the hospital's associated general managers, the picture released by Turkey only shows part of the hospital complex, not the main building hit by a bomb attack.
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