the same can't be said for the children living in the front-line homes in Berry Place, where a tank is stationed at the entrance to the two streets.

"When the bombing starts every day, they are really afraid. And then when it calms down they give the impression that they've forgotten everything and they start to smile again," said Fariza Lahham, an elegant 25-year-old dental assistant.

Jobar was built in the 1960s and was a bustling commercial district before the conflict.

Now, most of its shops are shuttered, its buildings deserted and the pavement pockmarked by shrapnel.

The fight between the regime and rebels even goes on below ground, with both sides using tunnels to attack the other.

"We used to do our shopping in Jobar al-Balad," said Berry Place resident Bassam Zarqi,referring to a district in eastern Jobar, now under rebel control.

"We've had to change that and go to Abbasid Square instead," adds the 70-year-old, sitting in front of his house with his granddaughter in his arms.

Despite the danger, for some the neighborhood has become a refuge.

Um Mohamed fled the eastern Damascus suburb of Ain Terma because the rebel-held district was under such fierce regime bombardment.

"I was living with my cousin there. He left his house with his family when a mortar shell came in through their house," she said.

"I decided to come here because I felt it was less dangerous than where I was coming from," she said.

Nearby, soldiers are on patrol.

"We're here to protect civilians and children in the Abbassid region," one said.

"It's a strategic position to