12 more patients evacuated from Syria rebel enclave
Douma, Syria, (MILLAT ONLINE):A second batch of sick Syrian civilians, most of them children, left the besieged rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta,
aid officials said Thursday, but hundreds of critical patients remained trapped.
Four evacuations took place on Tuesday and another group of 12 made it out late Wednesday, but a
top humanitarian envoy questioned a deal under which medical emergencies are used as bargaining chips.
A total of 29 emergency medical cases are expected to be evacuated under a deal with the government
that saw rebels release several men, including workers detained during fierce clashes with the army in March.
The numbers are still a far cry from the nearly 500 patients in the Damascus suburb the UN said weeks
ago would die if they did not urgently receive better treatment.
“Yesterday we evacuated 12 patients together with their family members, the majority of them are
children,” International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Ingy Sedky said.
“Most of them suffer from cancer, chronic diseases and heart diseases,” she said, adding that the
evacuees were transferred to Damascus.