Activists sent out an urgent appeal regarding the situation in the besieged Damascus Suburb of Douma: 

The city is enduring a military campaign for a ninth day, the heaviest since the uprising in Syria began 15 months ago.

 Tens of people have been killed and scores of others injured.

 The streets are blocked by security forces, making the humanitarian situation in the besieged city very grave. There is an acute shortage of basic needs, including bread. Electricity has been cut and gas cannot be found in the city.

More than 100 families in Douma have been forced to stay in shelters under tragic conditions.

The displaced - mostly women and children- live in fear amid continuous bombing and gunfire. 

Many men have fled the city as a result of the wave of mass arrest – and sometimes the executions- carried out by security forces.

The medical situation in the city deteriorated after regime forces stormed into and damaged the equipment of the hospital that treated the wounded in the city.

Tens of injured people staying in shelters require urgent medical care. There is a shortage in medics and no alternative field hospitals in the city.