A/HRC/31/68
as he returned to tend his crops. Similar accounts were received from southern Hasakah
after ISIS had been routed.
57.
On 22 November, an ISIS suicide bomber self-detonated on a main street in Tall alAbyad, killing five civilians, including three children. Multiple coordinated ISIS bombings
in Al-Zahra (Homs) on 28 November, and in Tel Tamer (Hasakah) on 10 December, killed
scores of people.
B.
Attacks on medical care
58.
The targeting of hospitals, medical personnel and transport, and the denial of access
to medical care remain an ingrained feature of the Syrian conflict. Interviewees from across
the country emphasized the long-standing paucity of medical care available to the sick and
wounded, resulting in an increase in deaths and permanent disabilities.
59.
That civilians have little or no access to medical care is largely the result of the
deliberate destruction of health-care infrastructure by warring parties. In areas under
bombardment, only minor injuries were treated locally. For governorates with access to
neighbouring countries, there is a continuous flow of medical transport rushing injured
civilians over the border.
60.
Government forces targeted hospitals and medical clinics in areas not under their
control. Of the 33 hospitals open in Aleppo city in 2010, fewer than 10 are still functioning.
Attacks on health-care infrastructure resulted in little or no medical help being available for
serious injuries. A survivor of a rocket attack on Kafr Hamra neighbourhood, Aleppo city,
on 29 October described a young relative dying while en route to Turkey to receive
treatment.
61.
Medical staff and patients have been killed during attacks. On 19 November, a clinic
in Duma was struck by a missile, killing a doctor. Pro-government planes over Azaz
attacked a children’s hospital on 18 December, killing seven people, including two
children. On 25 December, pro-government planes also struck hospitals in Azaz and Al-Eis
(Aleppo) (see annex IV), resulting in their closure.
62.
ISIS has directed multiple bombings of medical centres in areas recently seized by
YPG, including on 10 December the triple bombing of a clinic in Tel Tamer (Hasakah) that
killed more than 50 civilians.
63.
Government ground and air forces destroyed essential medical equipment and
supplies during its attacks on hospitals and clinics in Zabadani in July and Al-Latamneh
(Hamah) in October, destroying generators and medical equipment.
64.
Where health-care infrastructure is destroyed in besieged areas, the negative
consequences are amplified. Cut off from food, potable water and medical supplies, the
health condition of the population is critical. On 19 November, in Darayya, under siege for
several years, a government bombardment destroyed a field hospital, wiping out one of the
only sources of basic medical care available.
65.
Medical facilities, transport and personnel are protected under international
humanitarian law; their safety and functionality should therefore be ensured by all parties to
a conflict. The documented attacks have been against functioning hospitals and yielded no
military advantage greater than the collateral damage to civilians and civilian objects. No
warnings were given before the attacks.
66.
In such assaults, the warring parties deny entire communities medical treatment.
Large numbers of health-care workers have died, suffered injuries or fled, depriving
communities of skills needed more than ever.
10
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