Syrian opposition: Shelling of displaced shelter kills 12

There were signs of massive destruction in the hall, with furniture broken, walls destroyed and blood stains on the tile floors.

Fuad Abu Hattab, an exiled resident of Barada Valley and an activist with the group, said medical teams have been unable to move around the valley because of the fighting and it is not clear if the dozens of injured are getting any immediate care.

Abu Hattab said the centre has served as a shelter for many displaced civilians who escaped the ongoing violence in the valley and other parts of rural Damascus. The hall has an area for weddings, as well as a restaurant and a number of rooms. It had largely been spared the intense fighting, Abu Hattab said.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a team of volunteer first responders in the rebel-held parts of Syria, also put the death toll at 12, saying the shelling hit a displaced people’s centre.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at seven but said it was likely to rise because some of the injured are in critical condition.

Fighting has raged in the valley that provides the Syrian capital with most of its water supply. In recent days, government and allied troops have been advancing in the valley despite talks to stem the violence.

The Lebanese Hezbollah group, which has fighters on the side of the Syrian government, said pro-government troops seized a hill overlooking the water source in the valley Sunday.

Meanwhile, in eastern Syria, Islamic State group militants kept up their offensive on government-held areas of the contested city of Deir el-Zour, attacking a military air base from several fronts. The group said in statements posted on social media it attacked the airport from the west Sunday, seizing a sentry base used by government soldiers there.

The Observatory said the group’s militants also advanced on a hill overlooking the city. If it secures the hill, the Observatory said, IS militants would be able to sever the road between the air base and another army base nearby.

Deir el-Zour carries strategic significance for IS as it links the group’s Iraq territory to its de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria. The group is under intense pressure in both countries and has lost significant territory in recent months.

The extremist group, which controls most of Deir el-Zour province, has kept the provincial capital under siege since 2014. The new multi-pronged assault that began Saturday is its most intense attack on government areas since January 2016.

Government forces have withstood the encirclement thanks to air-dropped humanitarian assistance and weapons and ammunition flown into the airport. Remaining residents have reported malnourishment and starvation amid severe shortages of food, water and fuel.

Sarah El Deeb, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Syrian opposition: Shelling of displaced shelter kills 12

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