The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UOSSM

  • Syria: Aleppo’s largest hospitals bombed

    Syria: Aleppo’s largest hospitals bombed

    Two of Aleppo’s largest hospitals, M2 & M10 hospital, were attacked at the early hours of Wednesday, rendering them out of service.

    The attack coincided with a planned work strike (non-emergency only) by the doctors, medical staff and humanitarians for three hours in Syria (2 PM to 5 PM Damascus time) to protest against the continued targeting of medical facilities and health professionals without repercussion.

    Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) and its humanitarian partners actively support the action of our medical staff on the ground in hospitals throughout Syria. Aid workers are exhausted and need the international community to act. With a clear voice, they say: “stop the killing which claimed hundreds of civilians in the past few days, stop the daily bombings, stop the systematic attacks of health facilities and medical staff, stop the agony of the people of Aleppo and Syria.”

    uossmThe images that come to us are chilling. They show an escalation in horror and barbarism: mutilated children, torn bodies, hundreds of deaths, thousands injured. “Over the last five years of war, we have never seen so many deaths and injury in our hospitals as we did this weekend,” says Dr. Bakry Maaz, the orthopedic surgeon in Aleppo.

    Today, there are about 573 killed in Aleppo and more than 1,600 wounded in less than 10 days. This massacre is taking place before our eyes and aid workers are powerless against the annihilation of the civilian population.

    We reiterate our call for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate opening of an independent humanitarian corridor. We ask citizens to appeal to their government and the international community for immediate action.

    Our support is unconditional to physicians and health professionals in Aleppo. In a country at war, an action such as a work strike is the only way for these men and women to protest the impossible working conditions and humanitarian catastrophe. For the sake of our patients and humanity, we demand the immediate establishment of a humanitarian truce and a humanitarian corridor under international control.

    Aid Worker Casualty Data: 

    115 medical aid workers have been killed since the beginning of 2016

    • Nearly 800 medical aid workers have been killed since the conflict began in Syria.
    • 14 aid workers of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy were killed in an attack on September 19, 2016
    • 5 UOSSM Aid Workers were killed on September 20, 2016.
  • Massacre in Aleppo leaves medical NGO pleading for no fly zones, aid

    Massacre in Aleppo leaves medical NGO pleading for no fly zones, aid

    An intense aerial bombing campaign over Eastern Aleppo, which started on September 22 and continued throughout the weekend, has left over 300civilians dead and over 1,600 injured in the past week. Ground personnel report over 80 children have died and hundreds more are terribly maimed and wounded.

    “In the five years of this war we have never seen so much trauma and death in our hospitals.” Said Dr. Bakri M. – One of the last remaining Surgeons in Aleppo.
    Three of the four Syrian Civil Defense (The White Helmets) response centers have been attacked and one completely destroyed, reducing emergency response capacity by 50%. Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) doctors anticipate a surge in casualties/ injuries in the coming days from patients who were unreachable.

    ussom1“We don’t have enough medical supplies, we don’t have beds, patients are scattered in the hallways and dying on the floor. We can’t do anything if the airstrikes continue”- Said Dr. Bakri M.

    The few remaining hospitals that have not been destroyed are overwhelmed with the number of patients injured and dying. This weekend’s attack has been the worst any doctors in Aleppo have seen in the past 5 years.

    For the survival of our patients and staff, we plead for No Fly Zones over Aleppo. We ask all citizens to demand this from their governments. We ask for private and government donations to immediately support our clinics in Aleppo. UOSSM will continue its work despite the dangerous conditions and incredible challenges. Our staff is still committed to providing care to everyone in need, regardless of race, religion or politics.

    Over 90% of all civilian injuries in Aleppo are caused by air strikes. Using jets and the most advanced technology to drop untargeted munitions such as cluster bombs and barrel bombs in civilian neighbourhoods is nothing short of sadistic. The outcomes are clear that these methods, when used in populous cities, only injure and maimed civilians, not military targets. Precision attacks only seem to be used when targeting medical facilities, aid workers and humanitarian convoys.

     

    Breakdown of casualty so far, according to Aleppo Forensic Group:

    Reporting and data collection in the field has proven challenging due to overwhelming circumstances.

     

    94   – Casualties on Friday, September 23

    96   – Casualties on Saturday, September 24

    106 – Casualties on Sunday, September 25  

    18   – Casualties on Monday, September 26