The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that no fewer than 857 medical workers have been killed and 3,353 others detained or forcefully disappeared across Syria since March 2011, noting that nearly 85 percent of attacks and violations against medical workers were carried out by the Assad regime and Russia.
In a new report tracking violations against medical workers in Syria issued on Thursday, the Network said that the 87 medical workers died due to torture, 652 of whom were killed by the regime. The figure also includes 69 who were killed in attacks by Russian forces.
The report indicated that 36 workers were killed by ISIS, while six others were killed at the hands of the PYD militia, 13 by the international anti-ISIS coalition, and two by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham militant group.
According to the report, at least 3,353 medical personnel are still in detention or forcefully disappeared in Syria, 3,327 of whom were detained by the Assad regime, four by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, 13 by the PYD militia, five by ISIS, and four by other militant groups.
The rights group also said that it has recorded no fewer than 862 attacks on medical facilities across Syria since March 2011, 543 of which were at the hands of the Assad regime forces, 208 by Russian forces, 19 by ISIS, 16 by the international anti-ISIS coalition forces, four by the PYD militia, two by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, one by the Turkestan Islamic Party, and 69 others by other parties.
The report indicated that the period between 2012 and 2013 saw the peak of arrests targeting medical workers, while 2015-2016 saw the peak of attacks on healthcare facilities.
The Network called for exerting pressure on the Assad regime to immediately release 3,327 medical workers in its custody, refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, and hold accountable all those involved in attacks on medical workers, including the Russian regime after it was found guilty of war crimes. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
