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Medical charity urges end to bombings in "giant kill box" of Aleppo

A medical charity is urging the Syrian government and its allies to stop indiscriminate bombing i...
Newstalk
Newstalk

19.51 30 Sep 2016


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Medical charity urges end to b...

Medical charity urges end to bombings in "giant kill box" of Aleppo

Newstalk
Newstalk

19.51 30 Sep 2016


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A medical charity is urging the Syrian government and its allies to stop indiscriminate bombing in Aleppo.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) say the bombing is causing "a bloodbath of civilians" in the city.

It says on Wednesday, two more MSF-supported hospitals were seriously damaged by bombing and went out of service.

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"Bombs are raining from Syria-led coalition planes and the whole of east Aleppo has become a giant kill box", says Xisco Villalonga, director of operations at MSF.

"The Syrian government must stop the indiscriminate bombing; and Russia as an indispensable political and military ally of Syria has the responsibility to exert the pressure to stop this."

According to the Directorate of Health in east Aleppo, from 21st to 26th of September, those hospitals that are still functional in Aleppo reported receiving more than 822 wounded - including at least 221 children - and more than 278 dead bodies of which at least 96 were children.

'Staff working up to 20 hours a day'

Dr Abu Waseem, manager of an MSF-supported trauma hospital in east Aleppo, says: "All intensive care units are full. Patients have to wait for others to die so they can be moved to an available bed in intensive care.

"We only have three operating theatres and yesterday alone we had to do more than 20 major abdominal surgeries.

"The hospital staff is working up to 20 hours a day – they cannot just go home and let people die."

The charity says the massive number of wounded is rapidly depleting the stocks in all hospitals.

MSF has also released its report on the attack on Al Quds hospital in April, which it says "illustrates the daunting working conditions of hospitals in the city, and the brutal effects of the attacks on both hospital staff and on the access of the population to health services".

"Russia and the other members of the UNSC must respect the resolution on the protection of medical facilities and put an end to the total disregard for humanity that is being displayed in Aleppo today," Mr Villalonga copntinues.

"The ruthless, brutal bombing must stop and urgent measures need to be put in place to allow the evacuation of the severely sick and wounded to areas where they can access adequate medical care. Anything short of this is confirmation of what many are dreading, that the world has abandoned the people of Aleppo to a violent, agonising death."

It comes as Russia says it will press on with its bombing campaign in Syria, as the United Nations pleaded for medical evacuations from war-ravaged Aleppo.

The developments came as former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said that "proxy wars" in Syria could prolong the five-year-old conflict.


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