As the war the Assad regime and its allies have waged on the Syrian people grinds on and brings with it more heart wrenching stories of loss and suffering, a recently published report has brought to light the story of two Syrian children who lost their entire family in bombardment by the Assad regime on western rural Aleppo on April 18.
Nine-year-old Muhie Addin and his sister Nada, 8, lost their family after Assad’s jets struck their house in the town of Orim Alkubra in western rural Aleppo on the night of April 18 while they were asleep.
The airstrike killed the father, the mother, the grandparents, a five-years-old child, and an eight-month old baby girl.
Civil defense teams, also known as the White Helmets, rushed to the scene and pulled Nada and her brother Mohie Addin from under the rubble of their house.
The airstrike left Muhie Addin with a fractured skull, two fractures in his foot, and a brain injury. His sister Nada was left with disfiguring scars, including on her face, telling of the unspeakable suffering the children will have to go through for the rest of the their lives.
Othman Darwish, a cousin of Muhie Addin and Nada, said: “I heard the sound of an airstrike hitting nearby, so I ran to the place and found out that a missile had fallen on my uncle’s house. I accompanied Muhie Addin to the field hospital and stayed with him until the morning when I was told the rest of the family were killed. Nada was taken to another hospital in the area.”
Now Muhie Addin goes to the hospital two times a week for treatment, while Nada said she is waiting for the day when her brother recovers fully so they can both go back to school which they have not attended since their textbooks were buried under the rubble of their bombed house.
Children have had to go through horrible suffering during the past six-years in Syria, and among the most vulnerable are those separated from their families, the Unicef said back in March.
“Beyond the bombs, bullets and explosions, children are dying in silence often from diseases that can otherwise be easily prevented. Access to medical care, lifesaving supplies, and other basic services remains difficult,” Unicef added.
The most vulnerable among Syrian children are the 2.8 million in hard-to-reach areas, including 280,000 children living under siege, almost completely cut off from humanitarian aid.
Over 2.3 million children are now living as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)