The Syrian government, backed by Russia, is bombing its own people in Eastern Ghouta. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds injured in the past month.
This is not new for the people of Eastern Ghouta: people who’ve been trapped in a cruel siege for nearly six years are now being attacked daily, killed and maimed by their government. Children and elderly people are dying of malnutrition and lack of medication.
Tell the Syrian and Russian governments to end the attacks and lift the siege on Eastern Ghouta immediately.
The attacks must be stopped. Humanitarian aid must be allowed into Eastern Ghouta.
We succeeded in creating pressure and noise around the world for Aleppo – and we can succeed in helping the people under attack in Eastern Ghouta.
Taustatietoa:
14 individuals have died since July in Eastern Ghouta, as the Syrian government blocks their medical evacuation and those of another 572 other severely injured and ill people. More deaths are expected if authorities do not approve their immediate evacuation to hospitals in Damascus.
According to medical personnel in Eastern Ghouta, an area near Damascus where government forces have been holding around 400,000 civilians under siege, 14 people have died while awaiting medical evacuation. The medical evacuation of 572 people suffering from severe injuries and chronic diseases has been pending approval from the Syrian government since July. According to the testimonies, a majority of patients can be saved with basic medical supplies that are available in Damascus, just 10 kilometres from Eastern Ghouta. No medical evacuation has been allowed so far.
Doctors and medical workers are unable to provide adequate medical care to the injured and ill due to lack of adequate surgical supplies, medical equipment and medicine, particularly for treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. As a result, doctors are using expired medicine from destroyed hospitals. There has been a rise in cases of acute malnutrition, especially in children, exacerbated by the lack of access to food, humanitarian aid, and other life-saving necessities.
In February 2017, the Syrian government captured the areas of al-Qaboun and Barze, which border the Harasta neighbourhood of Eastern Ghouta, and closed all smuggling tunnels that had for years guaranteed a minimum flow of food, water, and medical supplies. On 3 October, the Syrian government further tightened the siege by closing the last remaining entry point to Douma, the al-Wafideen checkpoint, impeding access to medical and humanitarian aid and barring civilian movement. Only two aid convoys have been allowed in since, but both were significantly understocked to address the humanitarian needs of the population, and all medical supplies were removed by the government. Since October, the humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta has significantly deteriorated with prices of medicine and basic food supplies, like milk and bread, skyrocketing.