English translation of the statement released by the Aleppo Health Directorate on Friday November 18, 2016. Source: SOAS Syria Society [1]. Original Arabic [2].
Following some of the deadliest bombardments by the Syrian regime and Russian government on besieged Eastern Aleppo, the Aleppo Health Directorate announced that all remaining hospitals in Aleppo are out of service.
In a statement released [3] on Friday November 18, 2016, the Aleppo Health Directorate said:
لقد خرجت كل المشافي العاملة بمدينة حلب الحرة عن الخدمة نتيجة القصف الممنهج والمستمر لهذه المشافي خلال اليومين الماضيين من قبل قوات النظام والطيران الروسي. وهذا التدمير المتعمد للبنى التحتية الأساسية للحياة جعل الشعب الصامد والمحاصر بكل أطفاله وشيوخه ورجاله ونسائه بدون أي مرفق صحي يقدم لهم العلاج وفرص إنقاذ أرواحهم ويتركهم للموت الذي يسعى له النظام ولم ينفك يبحث عن وسيلة للقضاء على شعبنا الصامد.
مديرية صحة محافظة حلب
الدكتور عبد الباسط ابراهيم
All hospitals operating in Free [east] Aleppo are now out of service due to the systematic and continuous bombardment by the regime and Russian air forces over the last two days.
This deliberate targeting of vital infrastructure has left the besieged and tenacious people of Aleppo, children, women, men and elderly, without any facilities providing healthcare or a change to save their lives. They now face death which has all along been the aim of the regime that left no method untried to eliminate our resolute people.
Dr. Abdul-Baset Ibrahim
Aleppo Governorate Health Directorate
Other reports state that some hospitals are still functioning. Speaking [4] to CNN, Dr Mazen Kewara of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) [5] said:
For the first time, eastern Aleppo is out of hospitals operating at full capacity. There are remaining medical facilities but they are not operating at full capacity.
The Aleppo Media Center (AMC) told [4] CNN that there are only five hospitals operating in Aleppo.
This affects the over 250,000 civilians trapped in the city, who are now facing immediate danger.
In an article entitled “More than 250,000 in Eastern Aleppo could die after the next 20 days [6]” and published on November 17, 2016, Raed Saleh, the head of the organization White Helmets, the Syrian Civil Defense, Dr. Ahmad Tarakji, the president of SAMS and Laila Soudi, who works with SAMS and the psychiatry department at the Stanford University School of Medicine, wrote that:
Today, more than 250,000 Syrians remain trapped in besieged eastern Aleppo with limited access to food, clean water and medical supplies. Living under constant aerial bombardment, residents in the eastern part of the city have nowhere to go. Eastern Aleppo is expected to run out of food and medical supplies in 20 days or less, after which we risk losing more than a quarter-million people to mass starvation [7]and restricted access to lifesaving medical care.
Lina Sergie Attar, co-founder of the Syrian charity ‘Karam Foundation [8]‘ reminded her followers of the sheer scale of Russian and Syrian regime bombing in the last 24 hours alone.
Imagine you lived in a city with no hospitals. None. Now imagine that city was bombed 900 times in the last 24 hours. This is #Aleppo [9].
— Lina Sergie Attar (@AmalHanano) 19 November 2016 [10]
But whereas airstrikes are not always discernible, the use of barrel bombs has become a signature of the Syrian regime. Among the most recent barrel bombs attacks were:
BREAKING: Sakhour district, a civilian populated area of Aleppo has just witnessed 2 barrel bomb attacks by Syrian Air Force.
— Rami Jarrah (@RamiJarrah) 18 November 2016 [11]
BREAKING: The Saif al Dowleh area of Aleppo just witnessed a barrel bomb attack claiming the lives of at least 2 and wounding over a dozen
— Rami Jarrah (@RamiJarrah) 19 November 2016 [12]
There have also been multiple reports of the Assad regime's use of Chlorine gas:
Suffocation cases between the civilians in Masaken #Hanano [13] after #Assad [14] helicopters throwing barrel bomb loaded with chlorine gas
— Ahmad Alkhatib (@AhmadAlkhtiib) 18 November 2016 [15]
Reports of a new Assad barrel bomb chlorine gas attack targeting the Ard al-Hamra area in #Aleppo [9], #Syria [16]
— Sami (@Paradoxy13) 19 November 2016 [17]
The news quickly mobilized journalists and activists who are using their social media presence to amplify Dr Ibrahim's statement.
Aleppo-based Syrian neurosurgeon and activist Omar Ibrahim shared:
“Whoever saves 1 life saves all humanity.” All Eastern Aleppo hospitals destroyed. Speak up. #aleppowithouthospitals [18] #standwithaleppo [19] pic.twitter.com/m7yFlRsVvK [20]
— Omar Ibrahim (@Neurosurg_Omar) 18 November 2016 [21]
Aleppo-based Syrian journalist Hadi Abdallah, who was recently honored with Reporters Without Borders’ journalist of the year award [22], said:
Continuing systematic targeting of hospitals, pro-regime air strikes destroy Hakeem Children's Hospital & Bayan Hospital in besieged Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/Y0cwMhkmGQ [23]
— هادي العبدالله Hadi (@HadiAlabdallah) 18 November 2016 [24]
Dr Zaher Sahloul, a Syrian-American doctor and co-founder of SAMS who was recently interviewed by Global Voices [25], said:
S.O.S. Urgent! All remaining hospitals have been bombed by #Assad [14]/Putin airstrikes & shelling.The situation is catastrophic!#StandWithAleppo [26]
— Zaher Sahloul (@sahloul) 18 November 2016 [27]
Borzou Daraghi, Middle Eastern correspondent for BuzzFeed News [28], said:
Letter by Aleppo health association says all city's hospitals inoperable because of Assad/Putin bombardment. Nowhere to treat the wounded. pic.twitter.com/WoeM77qU8c [29]
— Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) 19 November 2016 [30]
London-based journalist Emma Beals released a series of tweets offering some context for the doctor's statement. She emphasized the regime's notorious tactics designed to force rebel-held areas into submission.
She also reminded her followers that the methods used in Aleppo were already used by the regime in other liberated areas such as Daraya [31] and Douma [32].
As of this evening, all hospitals w/ emergency facilities in #Aleppo [9] are out, food rations are now gone, heavy bombardment is continuing 1/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [33]
The siege, in place since July, some four months ago, is tightened. Regime's ‘Siege & starve’ + ‘submit or die’ strategies converging 2/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [34]
Situation in #Aleppo [9] is neither a surprise, nor a one-off. Same siege policy has been used to cripple areas all over #Syria [16] since 2012 3/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [35]
Heavy bombardment to force submission has come on the back of siege across #Syria [16] to force evac. We saw it in #Darayya [36] and now in #Douma [37] 4/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [38]
While attention of UN, UNSC, US, Russia and much media was on #Aleppo [9], this policy has been implemented to wrestle back control elsewhere 5/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [39]
The policy has gone virtually unchallenged. It's woefully underestimated by outsiders. But regime and Russia now know it works v well. 6/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [40]
#Aleppo [9] is merely the largest example of this inhumane policy being enacted. Screws are on in the same way in east-#Ghouta [41], al-#Waer [42] too. 7/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [43]
Look, in al-#Waer [42] egime has ‘lost’ 6k local detainees so evac plan stalled, bombings now are to force oppo's hand. Nobody even noticed. 8/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [44]
#Douma [37] in truce negotiation, bombings to ‘remind’ them of the wisdom of that, forcing evac would be a massive strategic win for regime 9/
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) 19 November 2016 [45]
Finally, guardian journalist Kareem Shaheen [46] said:
All hospitals in east Aleppo are now out of service due to regime airstrikes. The world stood by and watched as a people were murdered.
— Kareem Shaheen (@kshaheen) 18 November 2016 [47]
After a systematic campaign of annihilation, all of East Aleppo's hospitals have been put out of service, on the world's watch.
— Kareem Shaheen (@kshaheen) 18 November 2016 [48]