Cairo, Jumada I 24, 1436, Mar 15, 2015, SPA -- At least 18 people were on Sunday killed in airstrikes by Syrian government warplanes on a rebel-held area near the capital Damascus, a monitoring group said, as the civil war entered its fifth year, dpa reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 100 were injured in four air raids targeting the town of Douma, a rebel stronghold on the eastern outskirts of Damascus. There was no official comment. Government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have in recent months intensified airstrikes against rebel-held areas. The government says it is fighting terrorism. At least 215,000 people, including 10,808 children, have been killed in the conflict which erupted in March 2011, the Observatory said. The crisis started with peaceful pro-democracy protests demanding that al-Assad step down. It descended into a full-blown war after Al-Assad's started opening fire on unarmed protesters. --SPA 22:17 LOCAL TIME 19:17 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w