Health Body: Turkish attacks put 3 main health centers out of service

Members of the Health Body gathered in front of the Authority’s building in Raqqa to deliver the statement, which was read by the Deputy Co-Chair of the Health Body, Sherine Abbas.

The Health Body said at the beginning of its statement: “As usual when the date of any electoral entitlement approaches in Turkey, the Justice and Development Party government resorts to military escalation outside its borders to distract the attention of Turkish voters and lead them to the ballot boxes, driven by the illusion of national security."

The Body added: “The new Turkish escalation during the past two days included the entire extension of the Autonomous Administration areas, starting from Derik, Tirbespiye, Qamishlo, and Amuda to Kobani and villages in the Manbij countryside, causing, as an initial toll, eight civilian martyrs and the injury of dozens of others.”

The Health Body indicated that “targeting civilian infrastructure, service institutions, public facilities, vital facilities, and even private facilities and workshops, and institutions affiliated with the health sector were not spared from the Turkish bombing."

"The bombing led to destruction of the central oxygen station, the dialysis center  that supplied life gas (oxygen) to dozens of private and public hospitals and provides service to approximately 100 patients at a rate of 250 sessions per week."

The Body stated that the complete destruction of one of the main health centers in the city of Kobani led to the cessation of the continued provision of health service to approximately 400 patients daily who were benefiting from the services of that center, in addition to the existing ambulances being out of service.

The Health Body made the point clear, “Ankara, which boasts of the development of its military industry and its possession of high-precision weapons, placed the centers in the context of the target bank."

“International silence is an encouraging factor for the Ankara government to continue its aggressive policy towards the peoples of NE Syria.

The Body mentioned that “International laws have specifically protected civilian objects from armed conflicts and military targeting, such as the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and customary international humanitarian law. International law has also designated all property, installations, and service facilities within the framework of enhanced protection, and all of this includes wars and armed conflicts. The irony is that what is happening today is not a state of armed conflict that involves an exchange of fire between two sides, but rather a blatant barbaric aggression by one party launched against safe areas."

Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998 considered a war crime, meaning the deliberate and direct targeting of civilian objects, including hospitals and places."

 The Health Body in North and East Syria called on “the international community, with its human rights and health institutions to take a clear stance regarding the Turkish aggression.”

  “We at Health Body, institutions and individuals, affirm that we will continue to move on the path of a peaceful, democratic political solution, believing that it is the only project that guarantees the unity of all Syrians, and we will spare no effort in providing health services to our people, despite all difficult circumstances."

a.k

ANHA