"We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers," said Aleppo's last remaining doctors in an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama. "We need action." The 15 doctors serving the 300,000 people still living in eastern Aleppo urged the President to create a permanent lifeline to bring urgently needed medical supplies.
The eastern part of the city has been held by rebel groups since 2012 with the recent government siege, backed by Russian air power, and cutting off many supply routes.
While there were rare celebrations in the streets, the battered enclave is still far from peaceful, with tens of thousands of families trapped with in the war, basic infrastructures damaged, and access to humanitarian aid limited.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 6,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed or injured in 80 consecutive days of fighting in Aleppo.
A senior administration official told CNN that the U.S. government is already working with the United Nations and engaging with Russia to find a diplomatic approach to reducing the violence and allowing humanitarian assistance to the city.
According to the doctors, there is an attack on a medical facility every 17 hours, which means services in the area could be annihilated within one month if no action is taken soon.
Newborns in incubators are being evacuated to a hospital basement. Across the city, more that 2 million people are without access to electricity. The little amount of water that is available through wells and tanks is not nearly enough to sustain the population through the scorching Syrian summer, which is why children are particularly at risk of waterborne disease.
Despite the horrors, the remaining doctors still kept their oath to stay and help those in need.
Source: CNN
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