Kurdish Red Crescent calls for release of its kidnapped staff by Interim Govt.

Militias of the Interim Government in Syria kidnapped a medical team of the Kurdish Red Crescent during attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. Today, the Kurdish Red Crescent issued a statement calling for the urgent release of its team.

The statement was read by the co-president of the Kurdish Red Crescent, Hadiya Youssef, and member Pawier Jouli in front of the Red Crescent headquarters in Qamishlo. The statement said:

“In light of the recent events in Aleppo, specifically in the al-Ashrafiyah and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods, three members of the Kurdish Red Crescent were arrested by what is called the ‘Interim Government’ while carrying out their humanitarian duty to assist the wounded and provide medical care to civilians affected by the attacks.”

The Kurdish Red Crescent emphasized that their team was performing purely humanitarian work, far from any political or military agendas. They are: Yusuf Hanan Hamoko – ambulance driver, Abdulrahman Abdo Abdo – nurse, and Rami Hussein Al-Ali – head of the medical team.

The Kurdish Red Crescent stressed: “The arrest of these humanitarian workers constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, especially the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee the protection of medical and relief teams during conflicts.”

The Kurdish Red Crescent called for the immediate and unconditional release of their colleagues, ensuring their safety and return to humanitarian work, and held the responsible parties fully accountable for any harm that may be inflicted upon them.

The Red Crescent also called on all international and humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently and pressure for the respect of humanitarian principles, and to protect medical and relief teams from any targeting or detention.

A-H 

ANHA