FAIRFIELD, Conn., Sept. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Humanitarian partners in Eastern Aleppo have told Save the
Children that approximately half of the casualties they are pulling
from the rubble or treating in hospitals are children.
One hospital said that 43 percent of the injured they treated
yesterday were children, and the ambulance crew with Shafak, a
Syrian NGO, said more than 50 percent of the casualties they have
picked up in the last 48 hours are children.
Doctors are working round the clock to try to save them, but
children are dying on the floors of hospitals due to critical
shortages of basic medicines and equipment, including ventilators,
anaesthetics and antibiotics. Severe cases need to be transferred
out of Eastern Aleppo for treatment, but all roads are blocked.
The information they have provided paints a picture of
unimaginable violence and suffering for children and their
families, as the UN Security Council meets for an emergency session
on Aleppo.
Dr. Abu Rajab, who works at a
hospital in the besieged enclave, said that of 67 injured patients
that came in yesterday, 29 were children. Five children died
because the hospital did not have enough ventilators to treat them.
This morning (information received at 7 a.m.
EDT), 17 more patients had come in.
Dr. Abu Rajab said (click for full interview): "The field
hospitals where we work are completely full with injured people and
casualties, the majority of them women and children. The patients
are on the floor, with no ventilators for the ones who need oxygen.
We have to take the ventilators from one patient to save another.
We have severe shortages [of medicines and equipment] and exhausted
medical staff who are working above human ability, 24 hours a
day."
"Through you, we are calling for immediate help, calling all
humans around the world. We demand, through the Security Council's
platform, to stop the airstrikes on Aleppo city – the airstrikes
which are causing all of this."
Aid agencies estimated there were at least 100,000 children
trapped in eastern Aleppo when the siege was first imposed in
June.
Sonia Khush, Save the Children's
Syria Director, said: "We are
witnessing an appalling atrocity being perpetuated against the
children of Aleppo in front of our eyes today. The failure to
protect them and children across Syria will haunt the international community
for decades to come.
"The UN Security Council has a chance to right the wrong and
prevent more suffering when it meets today in New York. They cannot leave the room until
they agree an immediate ceasefire, with roads opened to allow us to
bring desperately needed food, clean water and medical supplies
in.
"There must also be accountability and justice for what has
happened. We support calls for an independent investigation into
the attack on the UN/SARC aid convoy last week. That investigation
should also have the remit to look at whether there have been other
breaches of International Humanitarian Law and war crimes committed
in this latest escalation."
Click here for full transcripts and audio clips
of Dr Abu Rajab's interviews
from hospital today.
For interviews and further information, please contact
c.anning@savethechildren.org.uk or call +90 5311038201
(Caroline, Antakya) / +44 7831650409 (Simon, London).
About Save the Children
Save the Children believes every child deserves a
future. In 120 countries around the world, we work every day to
give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and
protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most
vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last
to leave. We ensure children's unique needs are met and their
voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of
children, including those hardest to reach.
We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times
of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.
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Media Contacts:
Caroline Anning,
c.anning@savechildren.org.uk, +90 5311038201
Jordyn Linsk Machotka,
jlinsk@savechildren.org, 475-225-3160
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160925/411514
Audio -
http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/411511-Audio-clip-1-from-Dr-Abu-Rajab.mp3
Audio -
http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/411512-Audio-clip-2-from-Dr-Abu-Rajab.mp3
Audio -
http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/411513-Audio-clip-3-from-Dr-Abu-Rajab.mp3
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/children-make-up-approximately-half-of-casualties-in-eastern-aleppo-according-to-medics-300333713.html
SOURCE Save the Children