Residents of Syria's eastern Ghouta say they are "waiting their turn to die", after more pro-government rockets and barrel bombs fell on the besieged rebel enclave.
At least 10 people died in one village and more than 200 were injured early on Wednesday. At least 274 people have been killed in the district in the last three days, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
Another 13 bodies, including five children, were recovered from the rubble of houses destroyed on Tuesday in the villages of Arbin and Saqba, the Observatory reported.
The pace of the pace of the bombardment appeared to slacken overnight, but its intensity resumed on Wednesday morning. It followed a massive escalation in strikes that began late on Sunday. The enclave is home to 400,000 people.
Pro-government forces fired rockets and dropped barrel bombs from helicopters on the towns and villages of the rural district just outside Damascus, where rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad have their last big redoubt near the capital, it added.
"We are waiting our turn to die. This is the only thing I can say," said Bilal Abu Salah, 22, whose wife is five months pregnant with their first child in the biggest eastern Ghouta town Douma.
They fear the terror of the bombardment will bring her into labour early, he said.
"Nearly all people living here live in shelters now. There are five or six families in one home. There is no food, no markets," he said.
The United Nations has decried the assault on eastern Ghouta, where hospitals and other civilian infrastructure have been hit, as unacceptable, warning that the bombings may constitute war crimes.
The Syrian government and its ally Russia, which has backed Assad with air power since 2015, say they do not target civilians. They also deny using the inaccurate explosive barrel bombs dropped from helicopters whose use has been condemned by the UN.
"The humanitarian situation of civilians in East Ghouta is spiralling out of control," said United Nations regional co-ordinator for the Syria crisis Panos Moumtzis. "Many residents have little choice but to take shelter in basements and underground bunkers with their children."
"It's imperative to end this senseless human suffering," he added.
Eastern Ghouta, a densely populated agricultural district on the outskirts of Damascus, is the last major area near the capital still under rebel control.
Australian Associated Press
