At least 80 killed in Syria's eastern Ghouta in 'bloodiest day'

A war monitoring group says at least 80 people have been killed in regime shelling and air strikes on the eastern Ghouta suburbs of the Syrian capital.

The latest violence on Monday came as a UN relief convoy delivered humanitarian aid to residents stranded in the besieged region.

Rami Abdurrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says there has been no let up to the regime’s assault on the opposition-held suburbs.

Earlier, the activist-run Ghouta Media Center said regime strikes killed 24 civilians in Hammouriyeh and another 10 in Harasta, both towns in eastern Ghouta. The Observatory's tolls for these areas were also higher.

Pattern of denying aid 

A United Nations convoy delivered food and medicine to the town of Douma on Monday, but aid agencies say Syrian authorities blocked many of the health supplies, including trauma and surgical kits as well as insulin.

The shipment was the first to enter eastern Ghouta since Russia instituted what it called daily “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting a week ago. It also was the first time in weeks that any aid has been allowed in amid a crippling siege and a regime assault that has killed hundreds of people in the past month.

The UN’s humanitarian office said the 46-truck convoy of health and nutrition supplies, along with food for 27,500 people, entered Douma – the largest town in eastern Ghouta – around midday. It added the Syrian regime did not allow 70 percent of the health supplies to be loaded and would not allow them to be replaced by other items.

The World Health Organization said that during an obligatory routine inspection by Syrian regime officials, many of the supplies in the WHO shipment were rejected, including all trauma, surgical, dialysis and insulin supplies.

Marwa Awad, a spokeswoman for the World Food Programme in Damascus who accompanied the convoy, also said many of the life-saving health supplies were not allowed to be loaded.

“Consequently, three of the 46 trucks being sent to Duma today are close to empty,” she said. “We hope to be able to take them inside on the next convoy Thursday.”

The regime routinely removes life-saving medical supplies from aid convoys, in a pattern of denying such aid to civilians living in opposition areas. UN officials have complained for years about such actions by the Syrian regime.

Ingy Sedky, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Damascus, said the delivery included 5,500 bags of food and flour, enough for 27,500 people, in addition to medical items. One food parcel should last a month for a family of five, the ICRC said.

In desperate need

Many civilians in Douma are desperate for food and medicine, and had hoped for relief as the convoy began entering the area, one of the last rebel strongholds near the capital.

Eastern Ghouta, home to about 400,000 people, has been under a crippling siege and daily bombardment for months. More than 700 civilians have been killed in the last two weeks alone.

Douma-based media activist Ahmad Khansour said the aid covered seven percent of the people in need.

“Can you imagine such a number? It means if we divide it evenly, each family gets 2 kilogrammes (about 4.5 pounds). It’s enough for one day. It’s unbelievable how shameful this is of the UN,” he added.

The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Ali al Zatari, said the aid was delivered to civilian groups and local councils, in co-ordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Military groups did not receive any supplies, he said.

“We hope that civilians will get a fair share, their share, their ultimate share of the humanitarian supplies,” Zatari said.

The only other UN aid delivery to eastern Ghouta this year was on February 14, when a convoy of supplies for 7,200 people reached Nashabiyah, a smaller town.

Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad vowed on Sunday to continue the offensive in eastern Ghouta despite a UN Security Council resolution passed on February 25, demanding a 30-day cease-fire.

The daily humanitarian pauses would continue, allowing any civilians wanting to leave the region to do so, Assad said.

“There is no contradiction between the truce and the military operation,” Assad said.