Aid delivered to Syria's Ghouta amid renewed violence

BEIRUT -- An aid convoy crossed into the embattled rebel-held suburbs of Damascus on Friday, delivering desperately needed aid despite heavy fighting breaking out "extremely close" to the convoy and renewed airstrikes by the Syrian government.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the close-range fighting came despite security guarantees from the parties involved in the conflict humanitarian aid could enter the town of Douma, in eastern Ghouta.

"We were taken aback by the fighting that broke out despite guarantees from the parties involved in this conflict that humanitarians could enter Douma, in Eastern Ghouta," said ICRC regional director Robert Mardini.

"As more aid is needed in the coming days, it is absolutely critical that these assurances be renewed and respected in the future," Mardini said. "Aid workers should not have to risk their lives to deliver assistance. The security of humanitarian workers, as well as that of civilians, must be guaranteed at all times."

ICRC said it delivered, along with the U.N. and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, 2,400 food parcels to sustain 12,000 people for one month, as well as 3,248 wheat flour bags.

The delivery consists of supplies not offloaded during a mission to the enclave Monday, which was cut short because of deteriorating security. The trucks had been stuck at the Wafideen crossing over the entire week, waiting to enter and deliver the remaining food parcels and flour bags.

The ICRC said the aid was delivered in Douma, the largest and most populated town in the rebel-held eastern Ghouta, on the edge of the Syrian capital, earlier in the day. The convoy entered during a brief lull but the bombardment and fighting resumed after the convoy entered eastern Ghouta.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Douma was shelled before the convoy went in. Once the relief workers arrived, Syrian government forces shelled the outskirts of the town, he said.

Mohammed Alloush, the political chief of the Army of Islam rebel group, told The Associated Press as the convoy was inside Douma they were "being targeted by the regime although they have informed the Russians about their location." Alloush's group is the largest in eastern Ghouta and controls Douma.

ICRC spokeswoman Ingy Sedky said aid workers went into eastern Ghouta "after getting security guarantees from all parties to make sure no incident will happen during the presence of our team" there.

The attempt followed what opposition activists and the Observatory said was one of the quietest nights in eastern Ghouta since Syrian government forces escalated their assault on the rebellious region Feb. 18.

The government and its Russian backers, determined to wrest eastern Ghouta from rebel control after seven years of war, recently intensified the shelling and bombardment to clear the way for its troops to advance on the ground. Around 900 people have been killed in the past three weeks of relentless bombardment.

Doctors Without Borders said Friday that between Feb. 18 and March 3 at least 1,005 people were killed and 4,829 wounded -- or 71 killed and 344 wounded on average per day. The group known by its French acronym, MSF, said the data was collected from 10 medical facilities it fully supports and another 10 facilities it provides with emergency medical donations inside the eastern Ghouta enclave.

"Two of these facilities have yet to submit data for March 3, so this is an underestimation," MSF said. It added 15 of the 20 hospitals and clinics MSF supports have been hit by bombing or shelling, with varying degrees of damage.

"The numbers alone speak volumes. But even more telling are the words we hear from the medics we are supporting on the ground," said MSF Director General Meinie Nicolai. "Daily, we hear an increasing sense of hopelessness and despair, as our medical colleagues reach the limits of what a person can be expected to do."

Government forces this week advanced from the east and were less than a mile away from linking with forces on the western side of eastern Ghouta and cutting the rebel-held district in half.

The military gains have caused wide-scale internal displacement as civilians flee government advances toward areas in the territory still held by the rebels.

Nearly 400,000 people are believed to be inside eastern Ghouta. The most built-up and densely populated areas still under rebel control include the towns of Douma, Harasta, Jisreen, Kfar Batna, Saqba and Hammouriyeh.