Opinion: In Aleppo, we quickly learnt hospitals are the most dangerous place

As a Syrian doctor and former hospital director in Aleppo, I know exactly what it means to be a direct target for the Russian forces.

The war crimes that are being committed in Ukraine right now are, unfortunately, nothing new. They are no coincidence. Attacks on healthcare facilities are a strategic play by Russian and Russian-backed Syrian regimes and they have been attempted, developed and repeated for at least the past 11 years.

When the uprising in Syria began in March 2011, I was living in the western part of Aleppo. But when the eastern part of the city was declared a non-governmental area the following year, I moved there and founded a new hospital.

Managing a hospital while knowing that you are the main target is a huge dilemma. The more accessible the hospital is, the easier it is to be attacked. In Aleppo, everyone knows that the hospitals are the most dangerous places to be in, or nearby.

We had a saying that living near the frontlines is much safer than being at the hospital. We had patients refusing to be admitted for treatment saying, “You know doctor, it is too dangerous to be here for five days, can I take the medications at home?”

By attacking hospitals and medical centers, it makes it impossible for people to live in a city. How can people stay when the places they rely on for their health and safety have become a direct target? These attacks force people out. And most importantly, it is an attempt to break their resilience. It is an attempt to break their hope.

However, despite all of these horrors, we never wanted to leave. We wanted to stay in our country and keep fighting for our freedom and democracy.

It came to an end when the Syrian regime and its supporters (including Russia) managed to siege Aleppo for six months. They destroyed eight out of nine hospitals in the city. We became trapped in a space of less than two square kilometers.

An agreement took place between Russia and Turkey to evacuate whoever wanted to leave the city. Knowing…

Source : cnn