Negotiation of Three Foreign Ministers in Kazakhstan on 'Humanitarian Crisis' in Eastern Ghouta

While the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Russia met in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to discuss the 'humanitarian crisis' in Eastern Ghouta in Syria, reports indicate continued bombardment of the country by Russia. According to a report by AFP from Astana, Mohammad Javad Zarif, alongside his Turkish and Russian counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov, is likely to discuss the 'dire humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta' on Friday, March 16. The Eastern Ghouta region near the Syrian capital, Damascus, was completely under the control of opposition forces until recently and has been subjected to continuous bombardment by Russian fighter jets for several weeks. In this context, Reuters reported on Friday, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that in the latest round of Russian airstrikes, at least 31 people, including six children, lost their lives in the village of Kafr Batna. Syrian government forces and Russian fighter jets also targeted Eastern Ghouta with heavy attacks on Thursday. In recent days, government forces have managed to capture one of the densely populated areas of this region, resulting in a large number of civilians fleeing the city. A video report released by Russian news networks shows civilians fleeing the city of Hamouria, marking the largest migration of residents from Eastern Ghouta since the onset of the government forces' assault on the area last month. AFP cites the death toll from the conflict in Eastern Ghouta as nearly 1,260 civilians, of which 'one-fifth were children.' Since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011, following public protests against Bashar al-Assad's government, thousands have lost their lives, with estimates of the death toll ranging from 340,000 to half a million. The agency also reported that another topic of interest at the Astana meeting on Friday is to lay the groundwork for holding a summit on Syria. According to reports, this summit will be attended by the presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Iran on April 4, 2018, in Istanbul. However, not only Iran and Russia are engaged in battles in Syria; Turkey is also fighting against the Kurds in another part of the country. Turkey has called for an end to the siege of Eastern Ghouta, yet it has been attacking the Afrin region in northern Syria, which is predominantly inhabited by Kurds. In this context, Reuters reported on Friday about heavy bombardment of Afrin by Turkey the previous night, resulting in at least 18 deaths from these attacks. In this context, Syrian army forces have 'entered an important city' in Eastern Ghouta, as civilians flee the area amid the advance of government forces. Additionally, 11 Kurdish activists were arrested in Marivan on charges of 'supporting the Kurds of Afrin.'