Syrian air strikes kill nearly 100 civilians
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 17 August 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Syrian air strikes kill nearly 100 civilians, 17 August 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55ee96cf15.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
August 17, 2015
The death toll from Syrian government air strikes on a rebel-held town outside Damascus neared 100 on August 17, as the UN's humanitarian chief expressed horror and appealed for civilians to be protected.
The series of raids on August 16 on the town of Douma, in the rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta, was one of the bloodiest regime attacks in Syria's four-year war.
The air strikes came almost exactly two years after devastating chemical attacks on the same region that much of the international community has blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The head of the Syrian opposition National Coalition, Khaled Khoja, called the August 16 attacks a "massacre" and pledged they "will not go unpunished."
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 250 people were also injured.
It said the government carried out a total of 10 air strikes near a busy market and that "most of the dead are civilians."
Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, BBC, and Al Jazeera
Link to original story on RFE/RL website