Thousands of Syrian babies in the Damascus suburb are at the risk of death as the Assad regime has tightened up its blockade in recent months, while more babies day as a result of the siege on a daily basis.
Medics in the Specialized Hospital in Rural Damascus said that at least 527 babies died of malnutrition caused by the Assad regime’s blockade on eastern Ghouta between early 2014 and late 2016. According to data provided by the hospital, 227 more babies died in eastern Ghouta in 2017.
The Syrian Interim Government’s (SIG) local council in eastern Ghouta said that 40 percent of the approximately 17,700 babies under the age of two years old are in need of urgent aid.
Eastern Ghouta is home to about 400,000 civilians who suffer dire humanitarian conditions resulting from the siege.
The council added that about 8,500 babies aged less than 6 months as well as 9,200 ones aged between 6 months and two years live in eastern Ghouta. Deaths among babies have recently began to increase as a result of the regime’s tightening of the siege on eastern Ghouta in recent months, causing severe shortages of food and medical supplies.
Abdullah Resul Demir, Deputy Chairman of Refugee Rights Organization, said that children are the most affected by the conflict in Syria, adding that “all international laws failed the test when the issue became related to children in Syria.”
According to the latest report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which was published last September, 8.5 million children were affected by the war in Syria.
Eastern Ghouta has been subjected to heavy bombardment by regime forces over the last two weeks resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians though the area is covered by the ‘de-escalations zones’ agreement. Russia on July 22 announced a cease-fire in eastern Ghouta, but the Assad regime forces’ bombardment on the area continues unabated. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Anadolu Agency)
