Shelling by the Syrian regime on an opposition-held enclave on the outskirts of Damascus killed seven civilians, while retaliatory fire killed three people on Tuesday, a monitor said.
Six civilians, including two children, were killed by shelling on Saqba, in the Eastern Ghouta area that an opposition group controls but is besieged by regime forces, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Another child was killed in the nearby town of Douma, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based monitoring organization.
A total of 18 people were also wounded in the besieged area, he said.
Shelling by the opposition forces on central Damascus later killed three people, including at least two civilians, and wounded at least 15, said Abdel Rahman
“The shelling was in response to the attack on Ghouta,” said the director of the observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria for its information.
A “de-escalation zone” deal agreed by regime allies Iran and Russia and Turkey, which backs the opposition, has been in place in Eastern Ghouta since July, but it has been repeatedly violated.
In addition to an uptick in regime shelling on Eastern Ghouta, humanitarian workers have warned the conditions inside the enclave were increasingly dire.
Up to 400,000 people are believed to live in Eastern Ghouta, which has been under government siege since 2013.
The blockade has caused serious food and medicine shortages, and pushed the prices for what remains beyond the reach of impoverished residents.

Source:Arabnews