CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Arab Parliament strongly condemned the Syrian government's heavy bombardment of Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave near Damascus that killed and injured hundreds of civilians and ruined several hospitals, the pan-Arab body said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The Arab Parliament Speaker, Mashaal bin Fahm al-Salami, strongly condemned the continuous brutal shelling of Syrian Eastern Ghouta for several days that killed and wounded hundreds of civilians and targeted and bombed hospitals and civil facilities," said the statement.
War observers say that the Syrian and Russian airstrikes on the rebel-held enclave claimed the lives of 250 people in 48 hours.
Sallami described the Syrian pro-government shelling of Eastern Ghouta as "unjustifiable horrible crime, for it violates the rules of international law and international humanitarian law."
The Arab Parliament speaker urged the international community, the United Nations General Assembly and the world's active players for immediate intervention to stop the bloodshed in Syria and bring those responsible to the International Criminal Court.
The recent violence in Eastern Ghouta raised regional and international concerns about the innocent civilians besieged in the enclave.
Eastern Ghouta is part of the Syrian "de-escalation" zones included in a deal reached last May in Astana of Kazakhstan between the Syrian government and rebel groups.
The de-escalation deals were signed later in Cairo in July and August 2017.
Syria has for years been suffering instability due to confrontations between pro-government forces and armed rebels and terrorists from the declining Islamic State (IS) militant group.
The forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are backed by Russia, Iran and Shiite militias loyal to Iran including Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Russian troops in Syria have been launching bombing raids in support of the government forces, while a U.S.-led international anti-terror coalition has been launching airstrikes against IS targets in the conflict-stricken country.
The Arab Parliament stressed in a previous statement "the necessity for all regional states and powers to stop their interference in the Syrian domestic affairs and to give up killing and targeting civilians."
Since its eruption in March 2011, the Syrian crisis has claimed the lives of about half a million people and displaced and wounded over 14 million.
