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‘Mayhem’ in Idlib’s hospitals amid ongoing violence pushing displaced towards Turkish border

Rapidly escalating conflict in north-west Syria has created health care “mayhem” amid reports of displaced people moving closer to the Turkish border in search of shelter, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday.

“Health workers the World Health Organization has been speaking to describe mayhem in their health facilities,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, he said that nearly 170,000 “newly displaced people are sleeping out in the open” in Idlib - the last opposition-held area of Syria that is the target of a Government-led military campaign. This “has been exposing children to temperatures close to zero degrees. And that is a drama”.

Since 1 December, 11 healthcare facilities have been attacked, causing 10 deaths and 37 injuries, according to WHO.

The UN agency warned that the displacement crisis has created huge healthcare needs in some medical centres and hospitals but left other facilities deserted, amid a “sharp rise in trauma cases”.

“As of today, 84 health facilities have been forced to suspend operations since 1 December last year, out of those 84, 31 have been able to relocate and provide services where people have sought refuge from bombardments,” Mr Lindmeier said.

As part of a major and ongoing humanitarian cross-border initiative, WHO sent medical and surgical supplies from Turkey to northwest Syria on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“In a two-day operation, WHO has sent seven truckloads, or 55 tons of medicine and medical supplies, from Turkey into Idleb governorate and parts of Aleppo,” Mr Lindmeier explained.

Using the border crossings of Bab al Hawa and Bab al Sama, the UN agency transported equipment including 3,200 trauma and surgical treatments.

These are being distributed to WHO partners in more than 150 facilities - approximately half of functioning health facilities in the northwest.

Since 1 December, the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that that nearly a million people have been displaced in the embattled region.

Conditions are “horrifying”, spokesperson Jens Laerke said.

“We now have 950,000 displacements going in absolutely horrifying conditions. People have nothing and they have no place to go. So you know, this is an increase upon an increase upon an increase, and it is really tragic to see what is going on.”

Amid reports that the Turkish authorities had begun allowing Syrian civilians to cross into Turkey after

dozens of Turkish soldiers were reportedly killed in an attack linked to Syrian Government forces, Mr Laerke said that OCHA had yet to receive confirmation of this.

“We have no official confirmation from or communication from the Turkish Government about any change as of now,” he said. “So, the cross-border operation does continue and I could add that in the first two months of this year, we have had more than 2,000 trucks crossing that border and that operation continues.”

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Syria Update WHO - OCHA

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