The situation in eastern Ghouta is truly horrific. Locals are reporting the numerous families are buried under the rubble and civil defense are unable to dig them out. Russian and regime jets & helicopters pounded the besieged enclave non-stop.
People are terrified and fatalistic, saying goodbyes to their friends as they await death.
Many civilians are taking up arms to defend their neighborhoods, but regime forces continue advancing. Ghouta has been severed into 3 pockets or is on the verge of being severed.
Many civilians are taking up arms to defend their neighborhoods, but regime forces continue advancing. Ghouta has been severed into 3 pockets or is on the verge of being severed.
Civilians are not leaving the underground shelters in which they're staying, relying on animal feed to survive.
People are terrified, false rumors are spreading like fire. Thousands of displaced civilians from towns captured by the regime have fled into rebel-held towns.
People are terrified, false rumors are spreading like fire. Thousands of displaced civilians from towns captured by the regime have fled into rebel-held towns.
There's a terrible stench in the streets of eastern Ghouta due to bodies buried under the rubble. Civil Defense teams are working around the clock to rescue victims but mostly to collect bodies. Hospitals are barely functioning, any semi-serious injury results in death.
Activist in Ghouta express defiance and readiness to die and not be displaced from their land, but many ordinary civilians simply want the bombs to stop, even if it means living under a regime that starved and gassed them with Sarin.
The high death-toll recorded in eastern Ghouta now (dozens of deaths documented each day in a small territory) is underestimating the actual number of casualties. Many corpses are buried under the rubble. See for example this family in Saqba
It's becoming harder & harder to communicate with people inside eastern Ghouta, as people are running out of gasoline for generators & do not leave basements with poor reception due to non-stop shelling.
Civilians are running out of water, let alone other basic necessities
Civilians are running out of water, let alone other basic necessities
Civilians are incredibly desperate. Some of my contacts are teetering on the verge of insanity. They are hungry, terrified & death is all around them. Many are praying for deliverance, after giving up hope that any humans would stop the horrors inflicted on them.
Others just await death, almost hoping for it.
The sense of community is incredibly strong in some cases, with people sharing whatever they have left & civilians acting as nurses and caregivers for strangers. But there are disagreements too.
The sense of community is incredibly strong in some cases, with people sharing whatever they have left & civilians acting as nurses and caregivers for strangers. But there are disagreements too.
Some civilians, realizing that Assad's forces are about to take over, are attempting to display their loyalty to the regime in public protests with regime flags, hoping this would prevent their future arrest, executions. Hatred toward the local factions is quite widespread too.
There are rumors, probably true, that both Faylaq al-Rahman & Jaysh al-Islam are negotiating w the regime despite public pronouncements that they won't. Most civilians seem to be in the dark. Some contacts say the regime is offering the rebels to stay & become its militias.
Photo reportedly from Douma today of a mass grave not in the cemetery, which was too far away and non-stop bombings made it too dangerous to carry the bodies there. Instead civilians bury bodies in parks and school yards, which are closer & slightly safer
Typical update on Ghouta: Man announces the death of his sister, her husband, their children, their daughters in law & their grandchildren in an airstrike on their home. Bodies are still buried under the rubble. Civil Defense are unable to dig them out due to non-stop airstrikes. 
