Airstrikes on Friday have killed scores of civilians concentrated in the East Damascus suburbs and the Homs suburbs.
Over 40 civilians were killed and tens wounded when airstrikes hit civilian areas in Kafr Batna and Jisreen in the Eastern Damascus suburbs on Friday. In Kafr Batna, a busymarketplace was struck on Friday afternoon leading to at least 15 deaths. The marketplace became engulfed in flames leading to the death of four children in a car. The majority of wounded, among them women and children, are in critical condition. Local disaster relief teams are working on the ground to extract victims from the rubble. Extensive damage toboth areas was reported. In Jisreen, dozens of wounded are being transferred to nearby field hospitals.
In addition, the Eastern Damascus town of Saqba was reportedly struck today by thermobaric bombs. The use of thermobaric bombs differentiates this strike from other recent airstrikes in Saqba. No information on casualties has been reported yet. Damage is thought to be extensive as Surveillance flights continue to roam the skies in the Eastern Ghouta area.
Additional airstrikes on Friday targeted the town of Talbiseh, a suburb of Homs, with 11civilians reported killed. Among the dead are 4 women and 4 children. The latest strikes inthe Eastern Damascus and Homs suburbs are a follow-up to a systematic barrage of airstrikes against civilian areas that have killed scores of Syrians throughout the country.
On Sunday November 29, 2015, an airstrike in the Idleb province town of Ariha also hit amarketplace, killing 40 people and wounding tens.
“This is the latest in a well-established pattern of the targeting of civilian areas in Syria, which is against international humanitarian law, said UOSSM USA CEO Dr. Khaula Sawah. “We continue to ask the international community to take meaningful steps to stop the aerial bombardment that is leading to the death and injury of civilians, in addition to the systematic targeting of medical facilities, which are overwhelmed by carnage.”
UOSSM aids the Eastern Damascus area by providing operational support, medicine, and medical supplies toarea hospitals and facilities.
