Syria Bombing Damages A’zaz Hospital | World Vision UK

A midwife has spoken of the dramatic moment a missile narrowly missed a World Vision-supported hospital in northern Syria, while newborn babies lay inside.

The bombing on Monday in the city of A’zaz shattered windows and damaged the structure of the building. Patients, including four babies in incubators and women under anaesthetic for caesarean, escaped injury.

The World Vision widwife said: “We heard the sound of a fighter so we ran into the hospital’s shelter. After the attack we couldn’t go up because we could still hear the sound of planes, when we went out we were told it was a missile. The sound of the plane was really loud and scary and destruction was huge.”

Fran Charles, Advocacy Director for World Vision’s Syria Response, said the incident highlights blatant disregard for international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict.

“Although a so-called cessation of hostilities was announced this week, to begin on Friday, recently there has been an alarming increase in attacks on hospitals, schools and other civilian areas in northern Syria,” she said.

“World Vision staff on-the-ground inside Syria report an increasingly restricted humanitarian space which means greater difficulty in reaching children and families with the assistance they so desperately need. The international community must step up and use all diplomatic influence at its disposal to ensure these attacks stop and children and families can access lifesaving assistance. International borders must also remain open for those fleeing conflict.”

World Vision staff and partners are seeing a startling increase in the number of people recently displaced in northern Syria near the Turkey border. Just within the past 15 days, more than 62,000 people have been displaced in the Aleppo region. Aid systems in border camps and towns, that are already hosting tens of thousands of people, are overwhelmed. 

“The recently displaced have been living on the front lines of this conflict for several years now,” said Angela Huddleston, Programme Manager for World Vision’s Syria Response. “For most of these families, shifting lines of conflict mean that it is the second or third time they’ve had to pack up and literally run for their lives. So this time around, they have little left in the way of supplies or belongings.”

In the town of A’zaz and the camps along the Turkey-Syria border, World Vision health teams are seeing an increase in diarrhea and flu-like symptoms among children. Many families fled with no protection from cold and are camped out in cars, mosques or in tents. Many of the tents are overcrowded with as many as three families sharing the space. Staff report at least three mothers have given birth in the makeshift tents.

World Vision is helping in A’zaz and the camps along the Syria-Turkey border by trucking in water, constructing latrines, and providing supplies for winter – which include blankets and warm clothing - plus baby kits for families, which contain diapers, diaper rash cream, wipes and other essentials. To add your support please donate to the Syria Crisis Appeal »