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Day 6

A Syrian surgeon on providing care in a city under siege

As violence continues to escalate in Syria, medical facilities are becoming a frequent target of bombers from Russia and the Assad regime. A recent report from Physicians for Human Rights says 95% of doctors have fled Aleppo. Brent speaks to one of the few surgeons still working in Aleppo about the desperate situation on the ground.
CBC Radio ·
A man inspects damage from an airstrike last August at the Dar al-Shifa hospital. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
Day 610:16A Syrian surgeon on providing care in a city under siege

Russian air raids in Syria intensified this week after a Russian jet was shot down by Turkish militants on the Syria-Turkey border. And according to a recent report from the Physicians for Human Rights, hospitals are becoming an increasingly frequent bomb target for both Russia and the Assad regime.

The violence is making it nearly impossible for residents of Aleppo to access medical care. And it is taking a serious toll on the doctors tasked with providing their treatment. According to Physicians for Human Rights, 95 percent of city's doctors have fled the area, leaving as few as 35 doctors on the ground in a city of 350,000.

Dr. Abdul Aziz is one of less than 10 general surgeons still working in Aleppo. He travels back and forth regularly between Syria and Turkey, where his family has relocated for security reasons. CBC has granted him a pseudonym to protect his safety. Dr. Aziz talks to Brent about the desperate situation on the ground, and why the international community needs to stop air strikes on medical facilities in Syria.

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