Medicine shortages haunt IDP camp in northern Syria
HASAKA, Syria – Medical charities providing treatment in northern Syria’s displacement camps say they are running short of vital medications as the bitterly cold winter places extra strain on already basic services.
Wedha Mohammed Khalaf was displaced from her village of Amal Khani in the Sari Kani area bordering with Turkey when Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies attacked in October.
Now she and her young family live in a makeshift camp for the displaced in Kurdish-controlled Hasaka. Some 1,359 families, numbering 8,129 individuals, have been displaced here since early October.
Already exposed to freezing, squalid conditions, Wedha’s health deteriorated further when she was diagnosed with cancer by camp doctors.
Too weak to leave her bed, Wedha can barely take care of her child, in temperatures that can drop 4 degrees below freezing.
“I visited the doctor for another illness, but they told me I had been diagnosed with cancer. The [Kurdish] Red Crescent carried out a surgery on me. This cold weather is unbearable,” Wedha told Rudaw.
The Kurdish Red Crescent says at least 200 IDPs visit its camp clinics on a daily basis. It is pleading with the international community to send medical supplies.
“So far, at least 6,000 people from the camp have received medication from us,” Cihan Amir of the Kurdish Red Crescent told Rudaw.
“Since the camp was opened during this wintertime, the majority of the IDPs become sick due to the cold weather. Their number is rising. In terms of medicine, no agency or organization has reached out to us to provide us with medicines.”
There are no international health organizations operating in the camp and aid agencies have not yet provided additional tents.
In recent weeks, 220 more families have come to the already overwhelmed camp. With the new arrivals, the total number of tents will reach 1,500.
Camp officials say that due to limited space and capacity, they will not be able to add more.
Turkey invaded northern Syria on October 9 last year with the stated aim of pushing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) back from its southern border.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG), which make up the backbone of the US-backed SDF, are considered terrorists by Ankara.
Turkey has sought to create a corridor of land on the Syrian side of the border where it can resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey.
As many of these refugees are not native to the Kurdish-majority region, Kurdish officials have warned the move could amount to ethnic cleansing.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by Operation Peace Spring and scores killed in indiscriminate mortar fire on both sides of the border.
Turkey’s Syrian proxies have been widely accused of war crimes and human rights abuses, including kidnappings, executions, and denying displaced civilians the right to return to their homes.
Wedha Mohammed Khalaf was displaced from her village of Amal Khani in the Sari Kani area bordering with Turkey when Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies attacked in October.
Now she and her young family live in a makeshift camp for the displaced in Kurdish-controlled Hasaka. Some 1,359 families, numbering 8,129 individuals, have been displaced here since early October.
Already exposed to freezing, squalid conditions, Wedha’s health deteriorated further when she was diagnosed with cancer by camp doctors.
Too weak to leave her bed, Wedha can barely take care of her child, in temperatures that can drop 4 degrees below freezing.
“I visited the doctor for another illness, but they told me I had been diagnosed with cancer. The [Kurdish] Red Crescent carried out a surgery on me. This cold weather is unbearable,” Wedha told Rudaw.
The Kurdish Red Crescent says at least 200 IDPs visit its camp clinics on a daily basis. It is pleading with the international community to send medical supplies.
“So far, at least 6,000 people from the camp have received medication from us,” Cihan Amir of the Kurdish Red Crescent told Rudaw.
“Since the camp was opened during this wintertime, the majority of the IDPs become sick due to the cold weather. Their number is rising. In terms of medicine, no agency or organization has reached out to us to provide us with medicines.”
There are no international health organizations operating in the camp and aid agencies have not yet provided additional tents.
In recent weeks, 220 more families have come to the already overwhelmed camp. With the new arrivals, the total number of tents will reach 1,500.
Camp officials say that due to limited space and capacity, they will not be able to add more.
Turkey invaded northern Syria on October 9 last year with the stated aim of pushing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) back from its southern border.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG), which make up the backbone of the US-backed SDF, are considered terrorists by Ankara.
Turkey has sought to create a corridor of land on the Syrian side of the border where it can resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey.
As many of these refugees are not native to the Kurdish-majority region, Kurdish officials have warned the move could amount to ethnic cleansing.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by Operation Peace Spring and scores killed in indiscriminate mortar fire on both sides of the border.
Turkey’s Syrian proxies have been widely accused of war crimes and human rights abuses, including kidnappings, executions, and denying displaced civilians the right to return to their homes.