DAMASCUS, SYRIA (APRIL 7, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) Shotlist: 1. COMMEMORATION CEREMONY HELD IN EASTERN GHOUTA 2. SYRIANS ATTENDING CEREMONY 3. SYRIANS HOLDING BANNERS 4. INTERVIEW WITH ZARIF MUHAMMED 5. INTERVIEW WITH MUHAMMED KAYTI 6. INTERVIEW WITH VAFA BUYDANI 7. PARTICIPANTS IN COMMEMORATION CEREMONY DAMASCUS, SYRIA - APRIL 7: A commemoration ceremony was held in the capital Damascus on Monday, Apr. 7, for the victims of the chemical weapons attack carried out by the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad. The silent commemoration was organized by local civil society activists operating in Douma in the Eastern Ghouta region of Damascus and the White Helmets, a humanitarian group in Syria. Activists and civil society representatives who attended the ceremony commemorated the civilians killed in the attack and called for aid to alleviate the suffering of the survivors. The event also called for Bashar al-Assad, who was responsible for the attack, and former regime officials to be tried in international courts. Eastern Ghouta has a grim history, notably when the Syrian regime carried out a chemical weapons attack on the opposition-controlled area on August 21, 2013, killing over 1,400 civilians. In 2018, the region again drew international attention due to relentless assaults by Syrian regime forces and Iranian-backed groups, which were backed up by Russian airstrikes. Thousands of civilians were killed, and humanitarian aid was blocked during the siege. In April 2018, opposition forces were ultimately forced to evacuate Eastern Ghouta under intense military pressure.