BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists and a first responder group say shelling and rocket fire in the suburbs of Damascus killed 19 civilians a day after medical evacuations were completed to save the lives of 29 others.

The Syrian Civil Defense, volunteer rescuers also known as the White Helmets, says pro-government forces shelled the rebel-held eastern Ghouta suburbs on Saturday, killing 6 children and 13 adults. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group and the local, activist-run Ghouta Media Center reported the same.

On Friday, the Red Cross and Red Crescent completed the evacuation of 29 patients from the besieged suburbs to receive urgent medical care in government hospitals in Damascus. The U.N. says around 400,000 people are trapped under the government's siege of eastern Ghouta.