Toronto, ON - A major hospital in Aleppo was hit by airstrikes and heavily damaged hours ago at approximately 4 p.m. on October 14, 2016 Damascus time. No fatalities were reported and 35 patients were transferred .
The hospital was supported by UOSSM/ SAMS/ other NGO's and serves a population of 150,000 people in Aleppo. It was amongst the last five operational facilities in Aleppo. Currently, only a few doctors remain to serve a population of over 250,000.There are unconfirmed reports that two more medical facilities have been attacked today. Patient volumes and trauma injuries have skyrocketed as a result of relentless bombardments in besieged Aleppo this week.
The name of the hospital is concealed for it’s protection in light of a policy to repeatedly attack hospitals until destroyed. This was apparent by three separate attacks on one major hospital in Aleppo in the past few weeks.
“The intensification of attacks in civilian neighborhoods has pushed all medical facilities and aid workers to their breaking point. This is a clear and irrefutable violation of international law. Immediate action by the UN is needed to stop the genocide which has already begun. ” – Said Dr. Anas Al Kassem, Chairman of UOSSM Canada
In the past three weeks at least 320 children have been wounded and 114 have died as a result of airstrikes in Aleppo. Destruction of White Helmet (Syrian Civil Defense) emergency response centers throughout Aleppo have severely inhibited the response times and compounded an already critical situation for patients seeking treatment.
UOSSM condemns this attack and demands that those responsible are held accountable for violation of International Humanitarian Law.
For the survival of our staff and patients, UOSSM implores United Nations Member States around the world to take concerted action to apply pressure on all actors in Syria to come to a peaceful resolution during the UN General Assembly. This emergency special session can be called under the UNGA 370A "Uniting for Peace" resolution, which dates back to 1950 and allows for the wider membership to step in when the Security Council "fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security."
Video of the aftermath:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1oIZsVkfBsxYVZscG5ldDZOOWc/view?usp=sharing
Media Contact:
Name: Avi D'Souza
Global Director Of Communications
Phone:(647) 528-5029
Email: press@uossm-canada.org
About UOSSM :
UOSSM (Union des Organisations de Secours et Soins Médicaux) provides free medical aid to the people of Syria regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion or political affiliation. UOSSM international, founded by Syrian Doctors around the world, started in 2012 and operates 12 major hospitals and supports 120 clinics inside Syria. UOSSM has performed over 1,000,000 medical treatments inside Syria since inception.
References:
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 beg an 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.
Medical Facility Attacks in Syria: Physicians For Human Rights:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_syria_map/web/index.html
UNSCR Resolutions:
UNSCR 2268:
"Reiterates its call on the parties to immediately allow humanitarian agencies rapid, safe and unhindered access throughout Syria by most direct routes, allow immediate, humanitarian assistance to reach all people in need, in particular in all besieged and hard-to-reach areas, and immediately comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law as applicable"
UNSCR 2139
“Emphasizing the need to respect the United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance and stressing the importance of such assistance being delivered on the basis of need, devoid of any political prejudices and aims, commending the efforts of the United Nations and all humanitarian and medical personnel in Syria and in neighbouring countries, and condemning all acts or threats of violence against United Nations staff and humanitarian actors, which have resulted in the death, injury and detention of many humanitarian personnel,
Strongly condemns the widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Syrian authorities, as well as the human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by armed groups, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as all grave violations and abuses committed against children in contravention of applicable international law, such as recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape, attacks on schools and hospitals as well as arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, ill treatment and use as human shields, as described in the United Nations Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Syria (S/2014/31);
Demands that all parties immediately put an end to all forms of violence, irrespective of where it comes from, cease and desist from all violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and reaffirm their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and stresses that some of these violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity;"