The need for medical services in northwestern Syria is extremely high. Beyond the direct victims of the conflict, there are huge needs for more than a million people who have fled areas of fighting over the past months and years, often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
Read more: Two mass casualty events within a week
In recent weeks, a massive explosion in Darkoush town, Syria, resulted in 12 casualties being rushed for urgent treatment to a nearby hospital supported by Médecins Sans Frontières. The force of the blast injured many people in the vicinity. Tragically, two victims arrived dead, having succumbed to their wounds during the journey to the hospital.
This blast came just days after a shelling attack in a nearby village led to an influx of casualties to the same hospital. As a result, four patients lost their lives.
One of the senior doctors in the Médecins Sans Frontières-supported hospital explained the nervousness currently felt by his medical team:
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“Following these two mass casualty events, the hospital has increased its readiness. We took a decision to stop receiving all non-emergency cases in the coming days as we are expecting to receive other casualties due to increased bombing in the area. Turning away patients is never an easy decision for any medic or hospital to take… But we feel it is now necessary for our medical teams to be on permanent stand-by for urgent lifesaving surgery.”
– Senior Doctor, Médecins Sans Frontières-supported hospital
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