Dozens of people have been killed in a recent spike in violence in Syria.

At least 40 people have died in recent days in what opposition activists describe as "indiscriminate bombardment" by Syrian regime forces.

The air raids are believed to be part of the regime's assault on opposition-held positions in Eastern Ghouta, a neighborhood near Damascus.

Eastern Ghouta is home to 400,000 people who have been living under siege for four years.

Children comprise around half of the population in the area, which is one of the last opposition strongholds in the country.

In desperate need of food and medicine, aid agencies evacuated a few dozen people in need of medical care from Eastern Ghouta last week.

Almost 650 residents need urgent medical assistance, according to the Syrian American Medical Aid Society.

Medicine is being rationed, and people are dying of complications due to the limited availability of simple procedures like dialysis.

PHOTO CAPTION

People are seen during shelling in the town of Hamoria, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria, December 3, 2017. REUTERS

Al-Jazeera