Children hold on to a woman's coat as they walk through the regime-controlled corridor opened by government forces in Hawsh al-Ashaari, east of Hamouria.

Since mid-February, Syrian troops have targeted the capital's sprawling eastern Ghouta region with shells, airstrikes and, at times, even toxic gas, according to opposition medics. They are now in control of the majority of the enclave that had been in rebel hands since 2012.