MSF calls to spare civilian lives in Aleppo battle

The siege of the rebel-held city of Aleppo in Syria is escalating.

Other parts of Syria have been cut off before and can usually sustain themselves for weeks on end. However, Aleppo has almost no agriculture and so the situation there has deteriorated fast.

About 300,000 people are trapped in the city, and aid agencies say that their food supplies will run out within weeks.

As the Aleppo battle is at its most critical point, Médecins Sans Frontières is outraged at the violence exerted against civilians and the passivity displayed by all those that can do something to stop it. Médecins Sans Frontières calls on all warring parties to abide by their obligation to protect civilians in both the besieged areas and in areas newly taken over by the Syrian government.

"Over the past year, we recorded 77 attacks against medical facilities operated or supported by MSF in Syria and Yemen: this is unprecedented," Meinie Nicolai, MSF president, told reporters in Kabul.

"Hospitals are now part of the battlefield," she added.

All negotiations to secure access by the UN and other actors, including Médecins Sans Frontières, in order to provide humanitarian assistance to the besieged areas of east Aleppo have been unfruitful. In most cases people seem not to have had the chance to flee when and where they wanted. It has been impossible to evacuate patients, resupply hospitals and provide much needed assistance to those trapped in the area. All parties concerned were and are responsible for this failure. A few medical staff are still working under extreme conditions in east Aleppo. They express deep fears for their immediate future. Medical staff and the patients they care for are protected under International Humanitarian Law.

In a conflict that has a horrendous record of atrocities against civilians, and echoing the latest UN statement, Médecins Sans Frontières is extremely worried about the fate of the population. "This is one of the worst crises MSF has witnessed in years," said Teresa Sancristoval, head of Médecins Sans Frontières' Emergency Unit for Aleppo. "We remind all sides that even war has rules. It is paramount that all parties allow people to flee to safety, allow the evacuation of sick and wounded, and facilitate the provision of protection and humanitarian assistance to those that are caught on the front lines."

Image credit: © Karam Almasri