We continue to call for the protection of civilians, medical facilities, patients, and health care workers in Syria.
On March 6, deadly violence erupted in western Syria, which has reportedly left more than 1,000 people dead. In response, teams from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) delivered trauma kits, which include vital medical items for wounded patients, to hospitals in Latakia, Baniyas, Tartous, and Jisr al Shughur, in collaboration with the health authorities.
Between March 6 and 7, hospitals on the west coast saw mass casualty influxes. According to the Ministry of Health, Latakia University Teaching Hospital’s emergency room received 156 patients with gunshot wounds. At Tartous National Hospital there were 122 emergency room patient admissions, out of whom 90 percent had surgical procedures. At Baniyas National Hospital there were 165 emergency room admissions. MSF calls for the protection of civilians, medical facilities, patients, and health care workers in Syria.
MSF staff distributed supplies in Aleppo in January 2025. | Syria 2025 © Abdulrahman Sadeq/MSF
Capacity building and training support
MSF is supporting Jisr al Shugur Hospital in northwestern Syria with medical donations, logistical support and trainings. The hospital treated 94 patients, most of them with severe wounds caused by the violence, including bullet and shrapnel wounds as well as other trauma wounds to their abdomen, arms, and legs. At Jisr al Shugur Hospital, MSF teams are currently working on capacity building with hospital staff to prepare for any possible further mass casualty events.
The events of the last days come at a time where instead of helping to build up the health care system, facilities have been closed down from one day to the next due to USAID funding cuts.
Itta Helland-Hansen, MSF project coordinator in northwestern Syria
Our teams in Syria are working to open a new project to support the emergency room at Tartous Hospital, providing medicines and training for mass casualty incidents as fighting in the region continues. We remain prepared to respond to any further emergencies and are in continuous contact with the health authorities and hospitals in northern and western Syria to provide additional needed support.
Needs are piling up while funding is being cut
A scale-up of health care services is needed in northwestern and western Syria. Many hospitals have been closed due to donor funding cuts, which is jeopardizing any possible reconstruction of the health system, which is already exhausted.
Needs remain high and the recent escalation of violence only added to that. In the past month in Al Salqin in northwestern Syria, where we co-manage a hospital with local authorities, we have seen more than a 50 percent increase in patients due to the closure of other hospitals in the region.
“We are facilitating concrete capacity building for hospital staff to be as prepared as possible mass casualty events,” said Itta Helland-Hansen, MSF project coordinator in northwestern Syria. “But in a broader sense, the events of the last days come at a time where instead of helping to build up the health care system, facilities have been closed down from one day to the next due to USAID funding cuts.”