Civilian death toll in Syria’s Ghouta rises to 800: monitor

Beirut (AFP) – More than two weeks of ferocious bombardment of Syria’s rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta have left 800 civilians dead, a monitoring group said Tuesday in a new toll.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 177 children were among the dead. 

Russian-backed regime forces launched their blistering assault on Eastern Ghouta, the last opposition bastion near Damascus, on February 18.