Siege of Eastern Ghouta
The siege of Eastern Ghouta was a siege that was laid by Syrian Government forces in April 2013, to the area in eastern Ghouta held by anti-government forces since November 2012, during the Syrian civil war. The cities and villages under siege were Douma, Mesraba, Arbin, Hamouria, Saqba, Modira, Eftreis, Jisrin, as well as suburbs of Damascus Beit Sawa, Harasta, Zamalka, Ein Tarma, Hizzah and Kafr Batna. By 2016, around 400,000 people were trapped in an area just over 100 square kilometres in size, thus with a population density around 4,000 inhabitants/km2.
| Siege of Eastern Ghouta | ||||||||||
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| Part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign, and the Syrian civil war | ||||||||||
Aerial bombardment of Eastern Ghouta by the Syrian Air Force on 8 February 2018 | ||||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||||
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Jaysh al-Islam |
Iran Russia (since 2015) Allied militias: Hezbollah Palestinian Syrian militias LAAG Arab Nationalist Guard Liwa Fatemiyoun Lions of Hussein |
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013 – July 2014)
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
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Essam al-Buwaydhani Abdul al-Nasr Shamir |
Colonel Ghayath Dalla Suheil al-Hassan | Unknown | ||||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||||
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National Defence Forces | Unknown | ||||||||
| Strength | ||||||||||
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10,000 (in 2016) 20,000 (in 2018) | 15,000 (in 2018) | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| 10,000+ killed (2012–18) | 10,000+ killed (2012–18) | Unknown | ||||||||
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20,000 killed civilians (March 2011 to February 2018, per SNHR) ~30,000 killed overall (Eastern Ghouta hospital sources, 2017) 105,000–140,000 displaced (2018) | ||||||||||
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2401, adopted on February 28, 2018, called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria for 30 days, including Eastern Ghouta, but the Syrian Army continued the offensive. In March 2018, the Syrian Army split the enclave into three parts, reaching an agreement with the rebels to withdraw to the north, to Idlib. This action displaced 105,000 people from the area. Douma was the only city left by the end of that month that was not under Syrian government control.
On April 8, 2018, on the anniversary of the 2017 sarin gas Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, an agreement had been reached to evacuate remaining fighters and civilians from the last rebel-controlled pocket of Douma following the chemical weapons attack that reportedly killed 70 people, and injured 500 who displayed symptoms of "toxic gas" exposure. The Syrian Government denied responsibility, together with its allies involved in the war: Russia and Iran. More than 50,000 people, including fighters from the Jaish al-Islam and their families, have been evacuated out of the city as part of the deal, to northern Syria. Around 200 hostages loyal to the Syrian Government have reportedly been released by the rebels. Russian military police were deployed to Douma to enforce the agreement.
Thousands of people were killed during this 5-year siege period. Numerous allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity were made during the siege, among others from the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the use of prohibited weapons, attacks on civilians, attacks against protected objects (schools, hospitals), starvation as a method of warfare and denial of medical evacuation.