Beirut The death toll from two days of bombing by Syria's regime of the Eastern Ghouta, an opposition-held area, has risen to 250 including more than 50 children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, saying it is the worst violence in the area near Damascus since 2013.

Pro-Assad regime forces � backed by Russia � intensified their efforts to retake the last major opposition stronghold on Sunday night. The UK-based monitoring group said at least 250 people had been killed in air strikes and artillery fire since then.

The Observatory added that it was the highest 48-hour death toll since a 2013 chemical attack on the besieged enclave. About 1,200 people were injured. According to activists, at least 10 towns and villages across the Eastern Ghouta came under renewed bombardment on Tuesday.

Source: International Islamic News Agency