Follow us on:   

Russia airlifts medical units to Aleppo
November 30, 2016, 10:54 am

The Syrian Red Crescent has already dispatched dozens of ambulances to war-torn Aleppo [Xinhua]

The Syrian Red Crescent has already dispatched dozens of ambulances to war-torn Aleppo [Xinhua]


Russian media is quoting official sources in the Defense Ministry as saying that they have dispatched several military transport aircraft carrying medical personnel, field hospitals, and medicines in a bid to alleviate the plight of the tens of thousands of civilians who have fled eastern Aleppo in the past few days.

The Syrian army, backed by Hezbollah and Russian air power, has made significant gains in recapturing key districts in Islamist rebel-held Aleppo.

With their hold on Aleppo waning, the rebels have been unable to prevent civilians from escaping the fighting.

Russia, Syria and UN officials have repeatedly called on civilians to exit the field of military operations.

The medical relief airlift comes a day after Russian President ordered the military to facilitate assistance to the war-torn Syrian refugees leaving Aleppo.

“The president has ordered the Defense ministry and the Emergencies Ministry to send mobile hospitals to provide medical assistance to residents of Aleppo and nearby settlements,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

The Russian airlift will include two types of hospitals – one serves multiple purposes and can accommodate 100 people; the other is mobile and can serve 50 patients.

Civilians began to trickle out of eastern Aleppo and into government-held territory as early as last Friday as the Syrian army finally broke through Islamist rebel defenses.

Aid groups estimate that nearly 250,000 civilians were trapped in the eastern part of Aleppo held by some 1,000 Islamist rebels from different factions.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies