#Trending: Syrian activists start campaign in solidarity with Douma

#StandWithDouma campaign gains traction across social media platforms.

2 min read

The New Arab

12 Nov, 2016

Douma has been under escalated bombardment since the start of November [AFP]

Syrian activists launched on Friday an online campaign to bring attention to the besieged city of Douma, urging social media users in the city and elsewhere in Syria to share their stories under the hashtag #StandWithDouma.

Douma, with a population of more than 100,000, lies only 10km north-east of Damascus and was one of the major sites of anti-regime protests that erupted in 2011.

As capital of the Eastern Ghouta governorate, it now lays as the main urban centre of the Ghouta region besieged by regime forces.

Activist Yasser Dumaini, one of the founders of the campaign, said the hashtag aims to "deliver the voice of the suffering civilians living the horrors of the Syrian regime in the besieged city."

Dumaini told The New Arab that the Syrian regime - backed by Russian warplanes - "has intensified its bombing campaign of the eastern Damascus city since the start of November, killing dozens of civilians and wounding hundreds more, leaving many with severe amputations".

Activists Firas al-Abdullah and Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, also involved in the campaign, told The New Arab that they aim to draw global attention to the fate of civilians in Douma amid the regime's escalating military offensive.

A six-month offensive against rebels in the Eastern Ghouta reigon by Syrian regime forces has chipped away at rebel-held villages and farmland across Eastern Ghouta, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Campaigners posted on their social media accounts images of destruction in Douma, including pictures of injured children and elderly as a result of the series of the bombardments by the Syrian and Russian forces.

Many took to social media platforms to voice their support and #StandWithDouma.

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[Translation: Which city in the size of Douma can handle over 7,500 deaths in six years? The city that is suffering asks you to stand with it #StandWithDouma]

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