The Syrian government began bombing Eastern Ghouta,
hometo almost400,000 people, on February 18 [AFP]

The White Helmets group says 674 civilians killed in past 13 days as Syrian regime continues to pound rebel-held area

As many as 674 civilians have been killed in the last 12 days by the continuous air attacks on the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, a Syrian volunteer group has said.

The White Helmets said on Friday that the death toll is from the air offensive that the Syrian government, aided by Russia, launched on the largely rural area outside of the capital since February 18.

Eastern Ghouta, home to nearly 400,000 people, has been besieged by the Syrian government since opposition groups took control of the area in the middle of 2013.

The aerial bombardment has drawn international condemnation, but a 30-day ceasefire unanimously voted for by the members of the United Nations Security Council last Saturday has largely failed to hold up, as air strikes have continued unabated.

“Since the so-called ceasefire up until now, 103 people have been killed,” said Mahmood Adam, a member of the White Helmets – a 4,000-strong volunteer workforce.

Among them, Adam said, were 22 children and 43 women.

“The systematic targeting by Syrian and Russian airplanes of residential areas in Eastern Ghouta has not stopped,” he told Al Jazeera.

Residents have expressed their mistrust in a Russia-proposed “five-hour daily humanitarian pauses” that supposedly would allow the evacuation for those seeking medical treatment through “humanitarian corridors”, in addition to giving access to the entry of aid convoys.

Yet so far, not one aid convoy was able to make it in, and residents say that there is no guarantee for their safety in the event they chose to evacuate the area.

“The people of Eastern Ghouta mock the news of exit corridors – they did not believe it for a second because they have lost all confidence in the regime’s credibility – particularly because the shelling has not stopped, and neither the Russians nor the regime have expressed any seriousness in keeping civilians out of the war,” Abdelmalik Aboud, an activist from the town of Douma, earlier told Al Jazeera.

Going underground

Thousands of families have been forced to take cover in basements or underground makeshift shelters due to the intensity of the bombardments and shellings.

Speaking to a local Syrian news agency, residents of Eastern Ghouta relayed how these shelters still do not give them security and safety.

A man who gave his name as Abu Anas, said that he and his family were forced to go to a shelter in Douma after the area he lived in with his family was targeted by shelling.

Yet even then they were not spared from the air strikes, as one missile hit the entrance of the shelter they were staying at, resulting in a number of injuries.

“These shelters are overcrowded and lack basic amenities,” Abu Anas said, after moving his family to another one. “They are not stocked with food and water, and most people do not even have clothes.”

Omar, who only gave his first name, is from the town of Hazza. He said that while the young men try to offer some comfort to the elderly, particular those who suffer from various ailments, the conditions of these shelters are “difficult”.

“We go for days without food, and I cannot provide my mother with the medicine she needs,” Omar said.

There are also no toilets in the shelters. Despite the risks to their lives, Omar has no choice but to carry his mother out and into one of the nearby houses whenever she has to relieve herself.