As in previous Syrian government sieges that ended in “reconciliation,” submission to the regime did not end the human rights abuses of local residents in eastern Ghouta. In the aftermath of the enclave’s gradual fall into government hands, the area witnessed the largest forced population transfer recorded throughout the Syrian civil war, a crime against humanity in and of itself,[1] which saw 66,369 people displaced from their homes in eastern Ghouta to the rebel-held north.[2] Those who remained behind are under the constant surveillance of the Syrian security state and endure daily humiliations, arrests, forcible recruitment into the armed forces, and restrictions on their freedom of movement.

Just as it did during the years-long siege, the Syrian government continues to restrict the ability of humanitarian organizations to enter Ghouta and the “aid centers” in which thousands of Ghouta’s residents are still detained, five months after the end of the offensive. Access to Ghouta itself has also been restricted, despite the immense needs of the population.

United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in relief efforts are not the only ones whose access to Ghouta has been restricted. In the aftermath of the chemical weapons attack on Douma on April 7, which precipitated the surrender of the enclave to the government a day later, government forces and Russian military police prevented the UN’s chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), from accessing the site of the attack for two weeks, and possibly tampered with the evidence. At the same time, Syrian government officials intimidated medical personnel and locals who witnessed the deadly attack into remaining silent.

Ghouta’s violent and gradual return to government control was accompanied by a mass population transfer operation, which began on March 23 and concluded on April 14, displacing a total of 66,369 Syrians who refused to reconcile with the government to the rebel-held north.[3] “Reconciliation” is the term used by the Syrian government and its allies to describe deals between the opposition, those remaining in the area, and those being displaced. In some––not all–– cases, including in Ghouta, these agreements include guarantees for the safety of those choosing to remain in their homes under government control.[4] The agreements call for unimpeded access to humanitarian organizations,[5] and, in the case of Ghouta, the reconciliation included a six-month delay for recruitment of men of fighting age into the armed services.[6]

Detentions

None of the points contained in the reconciliation agreements were upheld in eastern Ghouta. Shortly after government forces retook the eastern outskirts of Damascus, an operation accompanied by widespread looting,[7] they began forcibly recruiting the local men into military service.[8] In addition, dozens and possibly hundreds of civilians have been detained by different organs of Assad’s police state. Because the government monitors the private communications of residents of eastern Ghouta and suspected opponents are hastily arrested, documenting government abuses in the area faces severe obstacles. Most cases of detention and abuse in eastern Ghouta and other reconciled areas are reported only by a single source. Despite these challenges, this report documents twenty reports that were corroborated by at least two sources and at times even more.[9]

The wave of arrests and constant raids have created an atmosphere of paralyzing fear among residents of eastern Ghouta who worry they may be arrested next.[10] The pervasive nature of torture, starvation, and extrajudicial killings in Syrian government detention has been widely reported, and is well-known to all Syrians.[11]

One group targeted for arrests are people, particularly women, whose husbands and sons chose to be displaced to the rebel-held north rather than remain under government control. Such arrests were reported by multiple sources in July, when government forces arrested six or seven women in Kafr Batna for speaking to their husbands in northern Syria.[12] In late August, apparently after the government brought into eastern Ghouta cars that are able to pick up signals of encrypted communications, the government arrested dozens of residents of Douma, including women and the elderly, who had communicated with family members exiled in the rebel-held north.[13] Among those arrested were five women living in the same building in Douma who were arrested for communicating with their sons in the north.[14]

Another group targeted for arrests are former members of the “local councils” that operated, and provided administrative governance, in eastern Ghouta while rebel factions controlled the territory. On May 14, government forces arrested Khalil Aybout, the former head of Douma’s local council.[15] In August, government forces arrested six former local council members in Kafr Batna.[16] Government forces have arrested and apparently tortured to death medical workers who chose to remain in eastern Ghouta after its fall into government hands.[17] Government officials also questioned multiple medical workers and former members of the Syrian Civil Defense (known as White Helmets).[18] One notable case is that of Mu’ataz Hatyatani, a doctor in his sixties from Mleha who entered one of the “aid centers” of the regime during the government’s advance into Ghouta. Regime intelligence arrested the doctor and transferred him to a prison. During his detention there, the doctor was apparently tortured to death.[19]

Forcible Recruitment

In addition to politically motivated arrests, government forces began carrying out widespread arrest campaigns of men of fighting age, who were taken to military service and training shortly after Ghouta’s capture.[20] Hundreds of men have been swept up in these raids, despite the stipulation in the reconciliation agreement that gave residents of eastern Ghouta a “grace period” to settle their affairs before being called up for military service starting in September 2018. To avoid detention and dispatch to the fronts, and to secure a living, thousands of eastern Ghouta’s men have decided to join pro-government militias and the Syrian army, and in particular, units that operate around Damascus, such as the 4th Armored Division and the Republican Guard.

Those who do not join “voluntarily” have been swept up in large-scale arrest campaigns and sent to the Dreij military camp for brief training that lasts between twenty and thirty days. Such arrest campaigns occurred in Douma in May[21] and in August and September in Shifouniya, Douma, Misraba, and al-Marj, netting hundreds of new recruits for the Syrian army,[22] which has faced manpower shortages from the first months of the Syrian uprising.[23]

Restrictions on Freedom of Movement

Residents of eastern Ghouta who chose to remain behind rather than be displaced can be divided into three groups: those still detained in aid centers to which they fled during the offensive on Ghouta, those residing in the destroyed towns of eastern Ghouta under the watchful eye of the government’s secret police and military, and those who managed to leave to areas that remained under government control, such as Damascus, after finding a “sponsor” willing to vouch for them. Those remaining in eastern Ghouta and in the detention/aid centers, are subject to severe restrictions on their freedom of movement.

After retaking eastern Ghouta’s towns, government forces established checkpoints between the towns and within some of the larger urban areas. Government forces continue maintaining checkpoints surrounding eastern Ghouta, which residents need to cross if they wish to travel to Damascus. The government uses these checkpoints to severely restrict the ability of Ghouta’s residents to move between the area’s towns and in and out of Damascus.[24] In April, an internal UN document stated that “Medical referrals [from eastern Ghouta] encountered occasional delays due to the need for security approval.”[25] In August, the restrictions on patients’ ability to exit eastern Ghouta persisted, with internal UN discussions showing that patients requiring referrals to Damascus for “diabetes, cancer, thalassemia, orthopedic surgeries, dialysis, [and] neglected war injuries” were blocked by the government’s security apparatus. The Syrian Department of Health and Syrian Arab Red Crescent are able to refer patients to Damascus only “upon receiving the approvals from security forces.” The report added: “Transportation of patients to Douma is challenging.”[26]

Movement of goods is restricted as well and requires paying bribes to soldiers at the checkpoints.[27] Residents crossing through the checkpoints are subjected to verbal and at times physical abuse; men fear crossing through them due to the possibility that they will be forcibly taken to military service.[28] More goods are available in Ghouta’s markets and prices are lower compared with the period of the siege,[29] but the restrictions on the movement of people are only slightly less severe than those that existed during the siege they lived in for years before the bloody offensive.

Detention Facilities

During the forty-nine-day military campaign against the area, 92,338 of Ghouta’s residents fled to so-called aid centers opened by the Syrian government during the last days of the offensive to recapture Ghouta. Over half were allowed to return to their homes within days.[30] However, those who were prevented from doing so realized that the aid centers are in fact detention camps. Married women, the elderly, and children who find a sponsor in Damascus can leave. However, young men and women have to pay hefty bribes to secure their release, or join military service.[31] About twenty-five thousand continued to be held in the centers as of late July.[32] The camps are supplied by relief organizations and living conditions are poor. Multiple families are held in overcrowded rooms, there are not enough bathrooms, and residents are closely monitored by government officials running the centers.[33] According to an internal UN document from April, “secondary medical health services and specialized medical care (including orthopedic, dental, ENT [ear, nose, and throat] and ophthalmology related services) are not provided in the IDP [internally displaced person] sites.” In addition, “Referrals from IDP sites are only allowed to public hospitals for urgent and life-saving medical care.”[34] A month later, during internal deliberations of UN agencies present in Damascus, it became apparent that the government was preventing those detained in the shelters from accessing even life-saving medical care, stating: “There is a number of detected cancer patients not being able to be hospitalized for repeatedly required treatment.”[35] During the meeting, the participants were informed that the government was demanding that the employees of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent “sign papers as guarantors of the return of the patient to the shelter upon completing the treatment.”[36]

The Syrian government severely restricted the access of UN relief agencies to the IDP camps. An April internal report of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described: “Interagency monitoring and support visits to the East Ghouta IDP sites could not be realized in the period between 10 and 25th of April as no permission was granted by [Syrian government] authorities. Visits were resumed on the 26th of April.”[37] Internal UN documents obtained by the Atlantic Council show that the Syrian government placed significant restrictions on the ability of UN agencies to access eastern Ghouta. An internal document from May 8 described one of the “challenges inside eastern Ghouta” thus: “No access by UN agencies to date.”[38] The document states that this denial of access prevented UN agencies from carrying out an assessment of the needs of the local population. In July, an internal UN document clarified that the situation has not improved: “In general, many sectors are currently providing humanitarian assistance to the population inside East Ghouta through implementing partners [Syrian NGOs approved by the government], while direct access for the UN remains restricted.”[39]

Interference in the OPCW’s Investigation

Following the reports of chemical weapons use in Douma on April 7, the UN’s OPCW dispatched a fact-finding mission to Syria on April 14, but Syrian forces and Russian military police present in Douma prevented members of the mission from accessing the Douma site until a week later. On April 17, a UN reconnaissance team, intended to ensure the safety of the OPCW mission, carried out a preparatory visit to Douma and in one location encountered small-arms fire,[40] three days after the displacement of Syrian rebels and those refusing to reconcile with the regime was completed.[41] After Douma’s surrender, Russian military police gained control over the impact sites of the chlorine canisters and visited the sites, raising concerns about possible tampering with the evidence.[42]

Only on April 21 was the fact-finding mission allowed to access Douma. The mission carried out a visit to a second site in Douma on April 25 and completed its mission on May 4.[43]

State media outlets in Russia and Syria disputed the reports about the chemical weapons attack on Douma, claiming that the footage documenting it was staged. Medical personnel and civilians who were documented to have been in a hospital treating survivors of the attack appeared on Russian and Syrian state television to deny the veracity of the attacks’ documentation.[44] In interviews with the Guardian and Washington Post, medical personnel from Douma reported intimidation and pressure on them by Syrian security services and Russian military police to keep silent about what they had witnessed, not cooperate with investigations into it, hand over samples they had collected from victims, and appear on state television to deny the attacks had happened.[45]

On April 26, the Russian mission to the OPCW organized a press conference at The Hague with seventeen alleged eyewitnesses to the Douma attack, who were not made available to the OPCW to interview despite OPCW’s request.[46] The participants in the press conference echoed Russian claims that the videos documenting the attack had been staged.[47]

[1] Rome Statute of the Criminal Court, Rome, 17 July 1998, International Criminal Court, available from https://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/ea9aeff7-5752-4f84-be94-0a655eb30e16/0/rome_statute_english.pdf.

[2] United Nations, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: East Ghouta Response to the East Ghouta Crisis in rural Damascus Situation Report No. 5, (01 May 2018), available from https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-response-east-ghouta-crisis-rural-damascus-2.

[3] United Nations, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: East Ghouta Response to the East Ghouta Crisis in rural Damascus Situation Report No. 5, (01 May 2018), available from https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-response-east-ghouta-crisis-rural-damascus-2.

[4] Kareem Shaheen, “Ceasefire Deal Agreed in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta,” The Guardian, March 23, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/23/ceasefire-deal-agreed-in-syrias-eastern-ghouta .

[5] أورينت نت, “,تفاصيل الاتفاق بين “فيلق الرحمن” وروسيا في الغوطة الشرقية”

23.03.2018, https://bit.ly/2xzmIpr .

[6] نداء سوريا, “,تفاصيل الاتفاق بين مقاتلي حرستا والنظام السوري بوساطة روسية”,

21.03.2018, http://nedaa-sy.com/news/4991 .;

أورينت نت, “تفاصيل الاتفاق بين جيش الإسلام وروسيا بشأن دوما”

8.04.2018, https://bit.ly/2NTSyro .

[7] Al-Souria Net, “Items Looted from Eastern Ghouta Find a Market in Al-Assad District,” Syrian Observer, March 29, 2018, http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/34023/Items_Looted_From_Eastern_Ghouta_Find_Market_Al_Assad_District .;

زمان الوصل, “تهجير الغوطة ينعش سوق التعفيش في “جرمانا” 27.03.2018, https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/85902/.;

صوت العاصمة, “بالصور: عمليات تعفيش لجيش النظام من أحياء دمشق الشرقية.” 13.04.2018, http://damascusv.com/archives/1564 .

[8] السورية نت, “القوات الخاصة” تُغذي نفسها من المجندين إجبارياً في الغوطة: اعتقالات وحواجز تُعيد مشاهد 2011″,

16.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2nJ2HIw.;

منتصر أبو زيد, “الغوطة الشرقية: سجون النظام تتسع للجميع”, المدن,

05.07.2018, https://bit.ly/2xpywvb.

[9] Some of the reports are detailed below. For additional cases, see:

Arrest of youth by government intelligence services out of Ghouta “aid centers”:

صوت العاصمة, “المخابرات الجوية تعتقل 21 شاب من مركز إيواء بريف دمشق”,

21.07.2018, http://damascusv.com/archives/4769.;

عنب بلدي, “الغوطة الشرقية تحت وطأة حملات التجنيد والاعتقال”,

02.09.2018, https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/24961 5.

Arrest of young men in Misraba in August, despite the presence of Russian forces.

ممارسات الأسد في المناطق المهجرة, Facebook,

05.08.2018, https://www.facebook.com/Assad.violations/posts/23892252016298 4.;

شبكة بلدي الإعلامية, “النظام ينتقم من أهالي “مسرابا” بريف دمشق ويعتقل 20 شابا”,

05.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2NpXbK 4.

The government refused to settle the status of 350-500 of eastern Ghouta’s residents, raising fear that they will be forcibly taken to military service.

ممارسات الأسد في المناطق المهجرة, Facebook

05.08.2018, https://www.facebook.com/Assad.violations/photos/a.238897996832103/238897913498778 .;

زمان الوصل,”تمهيدا لتجنيدهم..النظام يرفض تسوية وضع نحو 350 شابا من الغوطة”,

05.08.2018, https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/90073/ .

The secret police arrested dozens who returned to the “aid centers” [detention facilities] and those returning to eastern Ghouta’s towns directly from Idlib after regretting their decision to be deported there. Those returning did so through coordination with the Ministry of Reconciliation.

صوت العاصمة, “اعتقالات تطال عشرات العائدين من ادلب إلى مراكز الإيواء بريف دمشق,

07.08.2018, http://damascusv.com/archives/4841 .;

سمارت نيوز,” النظام يعتقل مدنيين عائدين من إدلب إلى غوطة دمشق الشرقية”,

07.08.2018, http://bit.ly/2xqFFv q.;

زمان الوصل, ” تمهيدا لتجنيدهم..النظام يرفض تسوية وضع نحو 350 شابا من الغوطة”

07.08.2018, https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/90073/ .;

شبكة بلدي الإعلامية, “بينهم نساء وأطفال… قوات الأسد تستدرج وتعتقل العائدين إلى الغوطة”,

07.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2QHF4NM .

Wave of arrests in Zamalka following an armed assault if government forces in the town.

المدن, “الغوطة الشرقية: الاعتقالات تطال حفاري القبور,

11.08.2018, http://bit.ly/2xpLxVO .

صوت العاصمة, “هجوم يستهدف حواجز النظام في زملكا!”,

11.08.2018, http://damascusv.com/archives/4831 .

عنب بلدي, “الغوطة الشرقية تحت وطأة حملات التجنيد والاعتقال”,

11.08.2018, https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/249615 .

Arrest of ten civilians, including two women, at the Jamea’ Taha neighborhood in Douma, accompanied by raids and looting.

شبكة بلدي الإعلامية, “ميليشيات النظام تنفذ حملات اعتقال وتعفيش في “دوما””,

20.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2NtcbqQ.; ممارسات الأسد في المناطق المهجرة,

20.08.2018, https://www.facebook.com/Assad.violations/posts/253343955387507?__tn__=-R .

[10] Amman Hamou and Madeline Edwards, “With Dark Humor and Codewords, East Ghoutans Unlearn ‘Vocabulary of the Revolution’ as Assad Reasserts Control,” Syria Direct, July 21, 2018, https://syriadirect.org/news/with-dark-humor-and-codewords-east-ghoutans-unlearn-%E2%80%98vocabulary-of-the-revolution%E2%80%99-as-assad-reasserts-control/ .; Elizabeth Tsurkov, “Death Notices Fortify Barrier of Fear in Syria,” Atlantic Council, August 28, 2018, http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/death-notices-fortify-barrier-of-fear-in-syria .;

حرية برس, “قوات الأسد تشن عمليات اعتقال في الغوطة الشرقية”,

25.08.2018, https://horrya.net/archives/72854 .

[11] “If the Dead Could Speak: Mass Deaths and Torture in Syria’s Detention Facilities,” Human Rights Watch, December 16, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/12/16/if-dead-could-speak/mass-deaths-and-torture-syrias-detention-facilities .;

“Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison, Syria,” Amnesty International, 2016, https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/human_slaughterhouse.pdf .

[12] أورينت نت, “تفاصيل اعتقال ميليشيا أسد الطائفية نساء في الغوطة الشرقية”,

24.07.2018, http://o-t.tv/wCX .;

صوت العاصمة, “النظام يعتقل نساء من الغوطة بسبب مكالمة هاتفية إلى الشمال السوري.”

21.07.2018, http://damascusv.com/archives/4773 .;

زمان الوصل, “مكالمات هاتفية مع الشمال السوري تؤدي بنساء من الغوطة إلى معتقلات النظام”,

23.07.2018, https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/89201/ .;

شبكة بلدي الإعلامية, “النظام يشن حملة اعتقالات في الغوطة الشرقية”,

23.07.2018, https://bit.ly/2PKRK56 .

[13] حرية برس, “قوات الأسد تشن عمليات اعتقال في الغوطة الشرقية”,

25.08.2018, https://horrya.net/archives/72854 .

[14] صدى الشام, “النظام يعتقل مدنيين من الغوطة الشرقية “لتواصلهم مع ذويهم في إدلب””,

13.09.2018, https://bit.ly/2xlBXmE .

[15] تلفزيون سوريا, “النظام يعتقل رئيس المجلس المحلي السابق لمدينة دوما”,

15.05.2018, https://bit.ly/2OAWCKc .;

وكالة قاسيون للأنباء, “قوات النظام تعتقل رئيس المجلس المحلي السابق لمدينة دوما”,

15.05.2018, https://bit.ly/2xC1Y0b .

[16] “Within the Increased Arrests in the Area, the Regime Forces in the Eastern Ghouta Raid and Arrest about 30 Citizens Some of Whom Are Former Members of Local Councils,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, August 18, 2018, http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=100675 ;

عدنان أحمد, “حملات اعتقال للنظام السوري في “مناطق التسويات””, العربي الجديد,

19.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2PQQ3mL .

[17] المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان, “مخابرات النظام الجوية تعتقل 115 مواطناً من غوطة دمشق الشرقية ومدينة التل من ضمنهم 7 عاملات في مراكز طبية قبيل سيطرة النظام على المنطقة”, 13.09.2018 https://bit.ly/2QHYTEF .;

عمران أبو سلوم, “اعتقال فتيات عملن سابقا بالمجال الطبي في غوطة دمشق”, أنا برس, Ana Press, 16.09.2018, https://bit.ly/2DctKqs .;

مؤسسة السورية للدراسات وأبحاث الرأي العام, “في ظل صمت ‘الضامن’ الروسي.. النظام يعتقل شخصيات اعتبارية ويسوق 200 شاب إلى ‘الجيش’ من الغوطة الشرقية”, 10.08.2018 https://bit.ly/2xxC6Tn .

[18] عدنان أحمد, “حملات اعتقال للنظام السوري في “مناطق التسويات””, العربي الجديد,

19.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2PQQ3mL .

[19] بهية مارديني, “النظام السوري ينتقم من المعارضين رغم الضمانات الروسية”, إيلاف,

07.08.2018, https://elaph.com/Web/News/2018/08/1214946.html .;

عنب بلدي, “العميد الطبيب معتز حتيتاني.. وثق بالممرات الروسية الآمنة فقتله الأسد”,

06.8.2018, https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/245083 .

[20] الحل

“ورد مارديني, ““نادمون”.. حال من سووا أوضاعهم وبقيوا في من الغوطة الشرقية بعد سيطرة النظام عليها”,

20.06.2018, https://bit.ly/2OEAyOK .

[21] “After Their Control over the East of Damascus and the Eastern Ghouta through ‘Reconciliation Agreements and Demographic Change’…the Regime Forces Arrests Young Men in the Neighborhoods of the Capital and Douma city,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, May 14, 2018, http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=92127 .;

تلفزيون سوريا, “النظام يعتقل رئيس المجلس المحلي السابق لمدينة دوما”,

15.05.2018, https://bit.ly/2OAWCKc .

[22] ممارسات الأسد في المناطق المهجرة,

05.08,2018, https://www.facebook.com/Assad.violations/photos/a.238897996832103/238897913498778/?type=3&theater.;

السورية نت, “القوات الخاصة” تُغذي نفسها من المجندين إجبارياً في الغوطة: اعتقالات وحواجز تُعيد مشاهد 2011″,

16.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2nJ2HIw.;

سوريتي, “شبان الغوطة الشرقية بين أفرع النظام الأمنية والتجنيد الإلزامي”,

04.09.2018, http://www.souriyati.com/2018/09/04/108867.h tml.;

عنب بلدي, “الغوطة الشرقية تحت وطأة حملات التجنيد والاعتقال”,

02.09.2018, https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/249615 .;

“The Regime Replaces Checkpoints of Its Army with Intelligence in the Vicinity of the Eastern Ghouta and Conducts Sweep and Search Operations with the ‘Reconciliation’ Fighters in Search of Buried Weapons,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, September 05, 2018, http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=101826 .;

عنب بلدي, “حملة التجنيد الإجباري مستمرة في الغوطة الشرقية”,

09.09.2018, https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/250833 .

[23] Joseph Holiday, “The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War,” Institute for the Study of War, March 2013, http://www.understandingwar.org/report/assad-regime .

[24] مالك الشامي, “النظام يحاصر غوطة دمشق مجددا”, شبكة بلدي الإعلامية,

17.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2xzsveI.;

عنب بلدي, “الغوطة الشرقية تحت وطأة حملات التجنيد والاعتقال”,

02.09.2018, https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/249615 .

[25] United Nations, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: East Ghouta Response to the East Ghouta Crisis in rural Damascus Situation Report No. 5, (01 May 2018), available from https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-response-east-ghouta-crisis-rural-damascus-2.

[26] Health Cluster report “Draft, the Minutes of Health Working Group Meeting, Syria, 14 August (Tuesday), 10:00 – 12:00,” https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/draft_hwg_14_august.docx.

[27] السورية نت, “القوات الخاصة” تُغذي نفسها من المجندين إجبارياً في الغوطة: اعتقالات وحواجز تُعيد مشاهد 2011″

16.08.2018, https://bit.ly/2nJ2HIw .;

عمران الدمشقي, “النظام يفرض أتاوى على دخول سكان الغوطة إلى دمشق”, , شبكة بلدي الإعلامية,

21.06.2018, https://bit.ly/2NpezyF .

[28] زمان الوصل, “قوات الأسد تواصل انتهاكاتها بحق مدنيي “المصالحات” في القلمون والغوطة”,

02.09.2018, https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/92010/ .;

Ammar Hammou and Madeline Edwards, “Despite Government Assurances, Fears of Conscription among Young East Ghoutans Sour Hopes for Return to University,” Syria Direct, September 03, 2018, https://syriadirect.org/news/despite-government-assurances-fears-of-conscription-among-young-east-ghoutans-sour-hopes-for-return-to-university/ .

[29] Ammar Hamou and Justin Clark, “‘Nothing Is as It Should Be’: Residents in East Ghouta Struggle under Broken Economy Six Months into Government Rule,” Syria Direct, September 20, 2018, https://syriadirect.org/news/%E2%80%98nothing-is-as-it-should-be%E2%80%99-residents-in-east-ghouta-struggle-under-broken-economy-six-months-into-government-rule/.

[30] United Nations, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: East Ghouta Response to the East Ghouta Crisis in rural Damascus Situation Report No. 5, (01 May 2018), available from https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-response-east-ghouta-crisis-rural-damascus-2.

[31] أمنة رياض, “أوضاع إنسانية “سيئة” ومئات حالات الاعتقال في مراكز إيواء أهالي الغوطة الشرقية بمناطق النظام”, سمارت نيوز,

27.05.2018, https://bit.ly/2xvEzNW .;

الشرق الأوسط, “25 ألفاً من شباب الغوطة في «مراكز اعتقال»… وقوائم إضافية لسجناء ماتوا تحت التعذيب”,

29.07.2018, https://bit.ly/2vfZrYm .

[32] Ibid.

[33] أمنة رياض, “أوضاع إنسانية “سيئة” ومئات حالات الاعتقال في مراكز إيواء أهالي الغوطة الشرقية بمناطق النظام”, سمارت نيوز,

27.05.2018, https://bit.ly/2xvEzNW .;

عمار الحلبي, “معتقلات بغلاف إنساني… مراكز إيواء النظام السوري”, العربي الجديد,

01.07.2018, https://bit.ly/2NXdbCL .

[34] United Nations, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: East Ghouta Response to the East Ghouta Crisis in rural Damascus Situation Report No. 5, (01 May 2018), available from https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-response-east-ghouta-crisis-rural-damascus-2.

[35] Health Cluster report “Draft, the Minutes of Health Working Group Meeting, Syria 8 May (Tuesday), 10:00 – 12:00,” https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/minutes_hwg_meeting_8_may_eng.pdf.

[36] Health Cluster report “Draft, the Minutes of Health Working Group Meeting, Syria 8 May (Tuesday), 10:00 – 12:00,” https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/minutes_hwg_meeting_8_may_eng.pdf.

[37] United Nations, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: East Ghouta Response to the East Ghouta Crisis in rural Damascus Situation Report No. 5, (01 May 2018), available from https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-response-east-ghouta-crisis-rural-damascus-2.

[38] Health Cluster report “Draft, the Minutes of Health Working Group Meeting, Syria 8 May (Tuesday), 10:00 – 12:00,” https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/minutes_hwg_meeting_8_may_eng.pdf.

[39] Health Cluster report “Draft, the Minutes of Health Working Group Meeting, Syria 24 July (Tuesday), 10:00 – 12:00,” https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/draft_minutes_hwg_meeting_24_july.docx.

[40] “Media Alert: Update on the Deployment of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission to Douma, Syria,” OPCW, April 18, 2018, https://www.opcw.org/news/article/media-alert-update-on-the-deployment-of-the-opcw-fact-finding-mission-to-douma-syria/ .

[41] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Syria Situation Report for the Eastern Ghouta and Afrin Humanitarian Emergencies as of 16 April 2018. 16 April 2018, https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/unhcr-syria-situation-report-eastern-ghouta-and-afrin-humanitarian-3.

[42] Liz Sly and Asma Ajroudi, “Russia Accused of Tampering with the Site of Alleged Syrian Chemical Attack,” Washington Post, April 16, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/russia-accused-of-tampering-with-the-site-of-alleged-syrian-chemical-attack/2018/04/16/5b424dfc-4183-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?utm_term=.185b3f5aa29b .

[43] Sasha Ingber, “Chemical Weapons Inspectors Finish Their Trip to Syria’s Douma,” NPR, May 04, 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/04/608606987/chemical-weapons-inspectors-finish-their-trip-to-syrias-douma .; “OPCW Fact-Finding Mission Visits Second Site in Douma, Syria,” OPCW, April 25, 2018, https://www.opcw.org/news/article/opcw-fact-finding-mission-visits-second-site-in-douma-syria/ .

[44] Robert Mackey, “Russian TV Interview with Syrian Boy Was Secretly Conducted at Army Facility,” The Intercept, April 23, 2018, https://theintercept.com/2018/04/23/russian-tv-interview-syrian-boy-secretly-conducted-army-facility/ .; Eliot Higgins, “The Douma Chemical Attack – Fake News about Fake News on Russia’s Fake News,” Bellingcat, April 13, 2018, https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/04/13/doumafakenews/ .

[45] Martin Chulov and Kareem Shaheen, “Syrian Medics ‘Subjected to Extreme Intimidation’ after Douma Attack,” The Guardian, April 17, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/17/syria-crisis-medics-intimidated-over-douma-gas-attack .;

Liz Sly and Asma Ajroudi, “Russia Accused of Tampering with the Site of Alleged Syrian Chemical Attack,” Washington Post, April 16, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/russia-accused-of-tampering-with-the-site-of-alleged-syrian-chemical-attack/2018/04/16/5b424dfc-4183-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?utm_term=.185b3f5aa29b .

[46] “OPCW Fact-Finding Mission Visits Second Site in Douma, Syria,” OPCW, April 25, 2018, https://www.opcw.org/news/article/opcw-fact-finding-mission-visits-second-site-in-douma-syria/ .