The GPM Global Forecast is a bi-weekly, members-only article series for 2018. It provides analysis and short-term forecasting on key military, political, and economic events around the globe.

Civilian casualties soar in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta

The death toll in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-occupied suburb of Damascus, has risen to over 250 people, with some 50 children reportedly among the dead. Humanitarian groups are warning of a dire situation in the region, with starvation and sickness increasingly rife. So far calls from the UN for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow for aid deliveries have fallen on deaf ears. Conversely, the pace of airstrikes has ramped up considerably over the past week as Russian and Syrian forces attempt to pound the rebel stronghold into submission.

The area is home to some 400,000 residents and has been under siege since 2013.

The new uptick in shelling by pro-Assad forces has taken six hospitals out of commission in just the past two days, leading some rights groups to accuse the Assad government of war crimes.