IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.
Image: A Syrian man carries an injured woman following air strikes

World

Syrians pulled from rubble of besieged city outside Damascus

Eastern Ghouta is the last big stronghold of rebels fighting the Syrian government near Damascus and has been besieged for years.

/ 21 PHOTOS
Image: A Syrian girl appears from the rubble holding her shoe

A Syrian girl holds her shoe as she emerges from rubble following an airstrike on Hamouriyeh, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, on Jan. 9, 2018.

Government forces have escalated military operations against the suburb in recent months, seeking to tighten a siege that residents and aid workers say is a deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war, a charge the government denies.

Warning: This gallery contains graphic images depicting death and injury.

— Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP - Getty Images
Image: People gather after airstrike in the besieged town of Hamoria, Damascus

People stand on damaged buildings after the airstrike in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 9.

— Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Image: Volunteers from the Syrian Civil Defence dig a man out of the rubble

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, dig a man out of the rubble in Saqba on Jan. 9.

The United Nations estimates Eastern Ghouta is home to 400,000 civilians and says food and medical supplies have run low. 

— Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Man stands at a damaged site after an airstrike in the besieged town of Hamoria

A man stands beside an overturned vehicle in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 9.

— Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Image: Volunteers from the Syrian Civil Defense dig a girl out of the rubble

Volunteers dig a girl out of the rubble in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 9.

— Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Man carries a wounded child after an airstrike in the Saqba area, Damascus

A man carries a wounded child as he walks through a destroyed building in Saqba on Jan. 9.

— Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Image: A volunteer from the Syrian Civil Defense carries a wounded girl

A member of the White Helmets carries a wounded girl after digging her out of the rubble in Hamouria on Jan. 9.

— Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Man holds a wounded child after an airstrike in the Saqba area, Damascus

A man holds a wounded child in Saqba on Jan. 9.

— Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Image: Smoke rises from buildings following air strikes in Arbin

Smoke rises from buildings following airstrikes in Arbin, in Eastern Ghouta, on Jan. 8.

— Amer Almohibany / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Members of the Syrian civil defence evacuate wounded people

Members of the White Helmets evacuate wounded people in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, on Jan. 8.

— Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Medical staff treat the injured inside a hospital after several airstrikes on Douma

Medical staff treat the injured at a hospital in Douma on Jan. 8.

— Mohammed Badra / EPA
Image: The body of a child lies on the ground at a makeshift hospital

The body of a child lies on the floor of a makeshift hospital in Madera, Eastern Ghouta, on Jan. 8.

— Amer Almohibany / AFP - Getty Images
Image: A Syrian man and a woman mourn over the body of one of their children

A father mourns over the body of their two-year-old son after he died from a shellblast in Douma on Jan. 8. The family had left their home in the village of Kafr Batna on Monday for a market in a nearby village, seeking food for their malnourished children, but a mortar shell landed close to them, instantly killing the boy.

— Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP - Getty Images
Image: A Syrian government plane flies over the rebel-held besieged town of Arbin

A Syrian government plane flies over Arbin on Jan. 8.

— Amer Almohibany / AFP - Getty Images
Image: A Syria Civil Defense member carries a wounded child in the besieged town of Hamouriyeh

A member of the White Helmets carries a wounded child in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 6.

The volunteer first-responders Syrian Civil Defense reported 12 people killed in Hamouriyeh saying they included four children. They said five others were killed in other areas.

— Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Image: Syrian civil defense volunteers carry a girl who was rescued from the rubble

Syrian Civil Defense volunteers carry a girl rescued from rubble in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 6.

— Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP - Getty Images
Image: A boy walks past a destroyed car after several air strikes on Hamoria

A boy walks past a destroyed car in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 6.

— Mohammed Badra / EPA
Image: A Syrian man carries an injured woman following air strikes

A man carries an injured woman in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 6.

— Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP - Getty Images
Image: A Syrian girl who was injured in air strikes cries as she receives treatment

A Syrian girl cries as she receives treatment at a makeshift hospital in Douma on Jan. 6.

— Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP - Getty Images
Image: People inspect damage after air strikes on Hamoria

People walk through damage following airstrikes in Hamouriyeh on Jan. 6.

— Mohammed Badra / EPA
Image: Young boys walk inside a destroyed room in the aftermath of airstrikes on Mesraba

Young boys walk through a home destroyed by airstrikes in Mesraba on Jan. 6.

Photos: Children among the injured in besieged Damascus suburb

— Mohammed Badra / EPA
1/21