Shelling near Damascus kills 8: monitor

Syrian regime shelling on the besieged rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus today killed at least eight civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
An AFP correspondent in Douma saw wounded civilians being treated at a makeshift clinic where distressed families were mourning the dead.
The Britain-based Observatory reported "six civilians, including a child, killed by artillery fire in Douma and two others by a shell fired by regime forces in (nearby) Saqba".
A deal reached between rebel backer Turkey and regime allies Russia and Iran earlier this year has created so-called "de-escalation zones" in several parts of the country, including Eastern Ghouta, bringing a measure of calm.

One of the aims was to facilitate aid access to besieged areas but humanitarian conditions remain dire in Eastern Ghouta, with malnutrition cases sparking fresh concern in recent days.
More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.