BEIRUT—Thousands of people streamed out of the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta on Thursday as Syrian forces overran another part of the last major rebel stronghold outside the capital. At least 1,540 people have been killed and nearly 6,000 injured since the resolution was unanimously passed Feb. 24, according to the Eastern Ghouta health directorate. The cluster of towns and villages known as Eastern Ghouta have been under rebel control since the earliest days and have been completely besieged by government forces since 2013. Numerous previous attempts by Syrian forces to wrest back the area have failed. Activists said they counted more than 300 airstrikes on Eastern Ghouta on Wednesday, with most of them concentrated on Hammouriya.

Source: thestar March 16, 2018 00:07 UTC