Regime and Russian air strikes on an opposition-held enclave near Damascus killed at least 17 civilians on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The deadliest of the raids on the Eastern Ghouta region hit Hammuriyeh district, leaving 12 civilians dead including two children, the British-based war monitor said.
Eastern Ghouta is the target of near-daily regime air raids since November 14.
According to a source from the “White Helmets” Syrian Civil Defense group, regime forces began intensified artillery and air attacks on the area which is part of the de-escalation zone. The source asked not to be named due to security concerns.
Regime forces targeted Hammuriye, Cisrin, Arbin, Misraba, Marj, Haresta and Medyere with heavy artillery and air attacks, the source added.
The death toll given by the White Helmets was 13, but the source said more casualties from the attacks are feared. The wounded were taken to hospitals by Civil Defense.
The Ghouta area, which has been under siege by regime forces since December 2012, falls within a network of de-escalation zones – set up in Syria by Turkey, Russia, and Iran – in which acts of aggression are officially forbidden.
Medical evacuations from Ghouta to Damascus started late December under a swap deal with the regime.
The Jaish al-Islam group released 29 detainees in the first round. In return, the government allowed the evacuation of 29 of the most critical cases.
Almost 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta have been besieged by forces loyal to regime leader Bashar al Assad since 2013. The United Nations has pleaded for his government to allow evacuation of around 500 patients, including children with cancer.
Although the densely populated enclave is now officially a "de-escalation zone" under Russian-led ceasefire deals for rebel territory, fighting there has continued. The population, including 130,000 children, is suffering the worst malnutrition seen in the almost seven-year war, the UN has said.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.
