Syria

Doctors ready to re-enter east Aleppo if given safe passage

Staff

10 October Oct 2016 1507 10 October 2016

Several doctors who worked in East Aleppo before the siege, declared to be ready to re-enter that part of the city if given safe passage. At the moment there are only 35 doctors left in East Aleppo. Only 7 of them can perform surgical operations

Several doctors who worked in East Aleppo before the siege, declared to be ready to re-enter that part of the city if given safe passage. At the moment there are only 35 doctors left in East Aleppo. Only 7 of them can perform surgical operations

Several doctors who were working in east Aleppo before the current siege have expressed their willingness to go back to the conflict-ravaged northern Syrian city to try to save the lives of the many people being wounded daily if a safe passage is put in place.

The beginning of the siege in July by the Syrian army and its allies took a number of these doctors by surprise; many of them are now in Turkey. “They observe now with deep sorrow the deterioration of the crisis, unable to help a population in dire need. As far as we know, several doctors have expressed their willingness to go back as soon as possible if a humanitarian corridor is created,” said Carlos Francisco, MSF’s head of mission for Syria.

At the moment, there are only 35 doctors left in east Aleppo and just seven of them are able to undertake surgical operations on war-wounded patients, according to the latest data from the Directorate of Health. “Patients have limited access to healthcare in the few remaining partially functioning hospitals. Doctors are exhausted, working around the clock to treat the huge influx of injured,” Francisco added.

Between 6 and 8 October alone, hospitals in east Aleppo reported at least 98 wounded, including 11 children, and 29 people killed by the airstrikes. “Wounded patients are sleeping in front of hospitals during heavy bombings because the hallways of the hospitals are full,” said Ahmed Laila, head of eastern Aleppo’s Directorate of Health.

Furthermore, hospitals and medical organisations are worried about stocks of fuel, which are essential for running the facilities and the 21 ambulances currently working in an area with an approximate population of 250,000, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). “The blockade has led, among other things, to a lack of fuel that has crippled the city. The medical facilities are on the verge of losing power, which could endanger their lifesaving activities,” said Pablo Marco, MSF’s operations manager in the Middle East.

“There is no time to waste. Russia and Syria must stop the indiscriminate bombing now and abide by the rules of war to avoid the extreme suffering of the unprotected civilian population,” said Pablo Marco.

Photo: THAER MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images

More

Vita Editore

Company

Services

European Year of Rail 2021 – Rail can make a big contribution to smart and sustainable mobility

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held an event promoting the European year dedicated to rail and explaining its potential to become a fully sustainable and competitive transport option, thereby helping to achieve the Green Deal targets

AI in Europe: not all decisions can be reduced to ones and zeros, says the EESC

In two reports on draft EU legislation on artificial intelligence, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for an all-out ban on social scoring in the EU and for a complaint and redress mechanism for people who have suffered harm from an AI system.

Broad participation by civil society is key to a strong recovery in Europe

CARE commits $130M to work towards SDG5: gender equality

EU Commission proposes coordinated measures for the safe reopening of the cultural sector

Doctors ready to re-enter east Aleppo if given safe passage

Several doctors who worked in East Aleppo before the siege, declared to be ready to re-enter that part of the city if given safe passage. At the moment there are only 35 doctors left in East Aleppo. Only 7 of them can perform surgical operations

Several doctors who worked in East Aleppo before the siege, declared to be ready to re-enter that part of the city if given safe passage. At the moment there are only 35 doctors left in East Aleppo. Only 7 of them can perform surgical operations

Related news

Poverty is not the engine of violent extremism

According to a World Bank study, the socio-economic conditions, poverty or any other sort of deprivations aren’t among the reasons due to which people join the extremist groups

Rich nations leadership wanted. Only 10 countries left to take 56% of global refugees

Wealthy countries have shown a complete absence of leadership and responsibility, leaving just 10 countries, which account for less than 2.5 percent of world GDP, to take in 56 percent of the world’s refugees, said Amnesty International in a comprehensive assessment of the global refugee crisis.

Refugee summit, ONE Campaign: This is a great first step...but just a first step

The ONE Campaign reacted to the Leaders' Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis on Tuesday and underlined that even if every commitment made this week is delivered, there will still be 2.7 million refugee children out of school.