Medical evacuations begin from Syria’s Eastern Ghouta: ICRC

Almost 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta are besieged by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and the United Nations has pleaded for his government to allow evacuation of around 500 patients, including children with cancer.

By: Reuters | Geneva | Published: December 27, 2017 7:27 am

Medical evacuations begin from Syria's Eastern Ghouta: ICRC

This photo provided on Nov. 12, 2017 by the World Food Program (WFP), shows a father holding his severely malnourished son in Douma, Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, Syria. (AP photo)

Medical evacuations have begun from the Syrian rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta to Damascus, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria said early on Wednesday.

Almost 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta are besieged by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and the United Nations has pleaded for his government to allow evacuation of around 500 patients, including children with cancer. The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said four patients were taken to hospitals in Damascus, the first of 29 critical cases approved for medical evacuation, and the remainder would be evacuated over the coming days.