BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government air strikes and artillery killed 71 people in the eastern Ghouta pocket near Damascus over the past 24 hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Monday. The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said the shelling and airstrikes killed 98 and that some people are still under the rubble.The Observatory says 20 children and 15 women were among those killed on Monday.The targeted suburbs have been subjected to weeks-long bombardment that has killed and wounded hundreds of people. There was no immediate comment about the deployment from Kurdish officials. The U.N. children's agency has issued a statement of protest against the killing of scores of people, including children, in the Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. Warplanes in the sky



Rescuers said the air raids create "a state of terror" among residents in eastern Ghouta, where the United Nations says nearly 400,000 people live. At least 250 people have been killed by artillery fire and aerial bombardment this month as the Syrian military, supported by Russian air cover, has “softened up” enclave defenders ahead of the operation, while 20 civilians have been killed and dozens wounded in the Old City from retaliatory mortars and rockets.
Ahead of an expected ground offensive, Syrian Air Force strikes on rebel-held eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, kill at least 44 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.