In Syria, the civilian death toll in Eastern Ghouta topped 600 today. The civilian casualties have increased since Syrian government forces and its ally Russia intensified their bombardment of the rebel enclave on 18th of this month. <br />''<br />''The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 147 of the 601 civilians killed, mostly in air strikes, were children.<br />''<br />''The rise in fatalities came in part from the discovery of bodies that had remained trapped in the rubble of destroyed buildings. The rescuers discovered the bodies after taking advantage of a Russian-brokered humanitarian pause to search for survivors. <br />