Bombing In Syria: Barrel Bombs Limit Doctors Without Borders Access In Aleppo

The international aid charity Doctors Without Borders is begging for access to warn torn Aleppo in the midst of a siege on the rebel-held area in Syria. The organization, which also goes by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), delivers emergency medical help to those affected by conflicts and disasters. MSF has been struggling to continue providing aid in Aleppo amid exploding bombs and devastating attacks that have left not a single hospital there undamaged.

Only seven doctors capable of performing surgeries on patients wounded in the war remain in Aleppo, an area with a population of approximately 25,000, MSF said. There have been at least 23 attacks on eastern Aleppo's eight remaining hospitals since the siege started in July.

Access to medical help in the area has now become a hazard in and of itself. At least 377 people were killed over the past two weeks in the most destructive bombing since the start of the war. The eight remaining hospitals in Aleppo are overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients needing assistance. "People are literally dying on the floors of the facilities," MSF said in a press release on its website.

The main trauma center in Aleppo is completely out of service after three separate attacks since Sept. 28. The area is completed isolated and cut off from basic goods and fuel, hindering the ability of hospitals and ambulances to provide aid. Doctors lack even the most basic items like gloves and compresses in hospitals that need much more complex equipment.

"The situation is unbearable," the head of MSF's mission in Syria Carlos Francisco said in the press release. "The few remaining doctors with capability to save lives are also confronting death. Only a few days ago, the manager of one of the health centers we support and his whole family, including kids, were killed by a barrel bomb."