Govt steps up push to oust rebels

Civilians living in fear amid heavy shelling as fighters move into Afrin

DAMASCUS - The Syrian capital's Eastern Ghouta area and the Kurdish-held Afrin enclave have grabbed the headlines recently after witnessing intense battles.

Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb comprising several towns, is seeing some of the most intense shelling by government forces, who are poised to launch a massive assault to eliminate al-Qaida-linked fighters there.

The presence of the ultraradical groups is seen by the government as a threat to the security of the Syrian capital.

On Sunday, the Syrian forces started the prelude to a massive ground offensive with heavy artillery fire and airstrikes, while the rebels have been firing mortars on the districts of the capital near Eastern Ghouta.

"Today, residential areas, Damascus hotels, as well as Russia's Centre for Syrian Reconciliation, received massive bombardment by illegal armed groups from eastern Ghouta," Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Russian military is supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

A police source said that eight people were killed and 42 others wounded on Tuesday by rebel shelling.

Among the victims were three schoolchildren, who were killed when a mortar shell struck Dar al-Salam school in central Damascus. Other people were in hospital after sustaining injuries from the shelling.

"We are waiting our turn to die. This is the only thing I can say," said Bilal Abu Salah, 22, whose wife is five months pregnant with their first child in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma.

The military campaign aims to remove the rebels from Eastern Ghouta, pro-government media outlets said, but it is no easy task as the rebels have been entrenched there for years.

Four key groups are positioned in Eastern Ghouta - the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham and the Levant Liberation Committee, otherwise known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

Opposition activists, mainly the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that 190 people have been killed and 850 others wounded in Eastern Ghouta since the military shelling started on Sunday evening.

The UN has demanded an end to the targeting of civilians in Eastern Ghouta.

"It's imperative to end this senseless human suffering," said Panos Moumtzis, UN's regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syrian crisis.

The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, Syria's main opposition group in exile, denounced the shelling on Eastern Ghouta as "war of extermination" and criticized the "international silence".

In the north, the Kurdish-controlled city of Afrin, which has been under a monthlong Turkish offensive, saw a new development on Tuesday when pro-government Syrian fighters entered the large enclave to "help the people of Afrin confront the Turkish attack", reported Syrian national TV.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (also known as the YPG) said in a statement they welcomed the arrival of the pro-government forces.

Syria's state media said the forces entered Afrin, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a small pro-government militant group retreated after coming under Turkish artillery shelling.

The Turkish army, together with allied Syrian insurgents, began a large-scale offensive on Jan 20 in a bid to oust the YPG fighters from Afrin.

Xinhua - Reuters