BEIRUT:
An air strike on a school in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta late Monday killed 15
children and two women who were using its basement as a bomb shelter, a monitor
said.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing raid hit Arbin, a key town
in the dwindling rebel-held enclave of Ghouta that has been under attack by
government troops for over a month.
“Three
missiles from a single air strike hit the school, where the underground level
was being used as a shelter,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the
Britain-based monitor.
“Rescue
workers are still searching for survivors,” he told AFP.
The
Observatory, which identifies air strikes based on flight patterns, munitions
used, and aircraft, said Monday night’s raids were suspected to have been
carried out by Russia.
Moscow
has said it is helping Syria’s government “finish off” fighters in Ghouta but
has denied carrying out air strikes against civilians.
Since
February 18, Syrian troops and allied militia have been waging a ferocious
ground and air assault to oust rebels from Ghouta, just east of Damascus.
They
have captured more than 80 percent of the former opposition and have splintered
the remaining territory into three sections, each held by a separate rebel
group.
The
pocket where Arbin lies is held by the Faylaq al-Rahman Islamist faction.
Syrian
troops have made sweeping advances against them in recent days, opening a
“corridor” for terrified civilians to flee into government-controlled territory.
Other
residents have opted to flee deeper into the shrinking rebel-held areas.
The
White Helmets rescue force, which works to extract people out from the rubble
after air strikes, said Monday its teams in Arbin were responding to a strike
on a “basement” there.
AFP
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