DAMASCUS – November 8, 2015– Russian warplanes conducted Saturday several airstrikes, killing dozens of civilians in a rebel-held city east of the Syrian capital Damascus, local activists reported.
Speaking to ARA News in Damascus, media activist Anas Dumani said that Russian warplanes struck the rebel-held city of Duma in the Eastern Ghouta east of Damascus, killing at least 23 civilians, including women and children.
Russian warplanes launched an aerial campaign on September 30 in Syria, in an attempt to bolster embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Rebels in Duma have been targeting pro-regime positions in the capital Damascus with rockets.
“At least six children and seven women were among the victims of the Russian strikes. The death toll could rise further because of the number of critical cases,” Dumani said, pointing out that dozens went missing under the rubble.
“Amid the large number of casualties, ambulances rushed into the stricken neighborhoods of Duma in a bid to rescue the wounded,” a media activist told ARA News.
Activists circulated a video on the social media, showing civil defense teams dragging the dead bodies from under the rubble and transferring the wounded into nearby field hospitals.
The pictures showed a mass destruction in the targeted areas, as a state of alert and panic hit the locals.
Earlier in October, dozens of civilians were killed after warplanes loyal to President Bashar al-Assad targeted a popular market in the city of Duma, east of the Syrian capital Damascus, local activists reported.