On Tuesday, gunmen invaded a hospital in northern Syria where a newborn girl is being treated after being born under the debris of her family's earthquake-ravaged home, according to a hospital official. The gunmen also assaulted the clinic's director, the source added.
The official refuted social media rumors that the Monday night incident was an effort to kidnap the newborn named Aya, which means "sign from God" in Arabic.
Gunmen Storm Syria Hospital
Aya has been at the hospital since the quake on February 6 that struck Turkey and Syria. Her parents and four siblings perished in the catastrophe. Since her birth, Aya has been extensively monitored, and individuals worldwide have offered to assist her.
The official, who spoke on anonymity for fear of reprisals, stated that the hospital's director feared that a nurse who was photographing Aya intended to kidnap her and expelled him. The official said the nurse returned hours later accompanied by gunmen who assaulted the director. The director's wife has been breastfeeding Aya, according to her doctor.
The shooters informed local police officers protecting Aya upon their arrival at the hospital that they were pursuing the director for firing their comrade and had no interest in Aya, according to the official. Several individuals fraudulently claimed to be Aya's relatives, causing local police to guard her, the doctor previously stated, as per Fox News.
After giving birth to Aya in the aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, Aya's mother perished. Her father and four siblings perished in the earthquake as well. More than ten hours after the earthquake, rescue workers in the northern Syrian town of Jinderis spotted the dark-haired infant while sifting through the rubble of her parents' five-story apartment building.
After being entombed in concrete, the newborn remained attached to her mother, Afraa Abu Hadiya, via her umbilical cord. She was taken to a local hospital in Afrin, where she has been treated since.
The terrible earthquake destroyed numerous settlements in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria to heaps of shattered concrete and twisted metal. More than 35,000 people were murdered, and the death toll is anticipated to grow as search teams locate additional dead, according to Sun Star.
The earthquake devastated dozens of homes in the town of Jinderis, where Aya's family has resided since 2018. Abdullah Turki Mleihan, the father of Aya, was originally from the hamlet of Khsham in eastern Deir el-Zour province. However, according to al-Badran, the father's uncle, he departed in 2014 after the Islamic State conquered the village.
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Syria Earthquake Rescue Missions
Meanwhile, Syria's president has agreed to open two additional crossing routes from Turkey to the country's rebel-held northwest so that millions of earthquake victims can get relief and equipment. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, applauded Bashar Assad's decision to open the border ports at Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée for an initial term of three months.
At Russia's insistence, the United Nations was previously only permitted to transport supplies to the northwest Idlib region through a single border at Bab Al-Hawa. The declaration followed a meeting between Assad and UN humanitarian director Martin Griffiths in Damascus yesterday, as per Daily Express. Griffiths spent the weekend observing the destruction wrought by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and northwestern Syria.
Diplomats said that Griffiths revealed Assad's decision to open the two additional crossings during a virtual briefing during a closed United Nations Security Council meeting.
During the meeting, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Bassam Sabbagh, told reporters that Assad had a "positive and constructive meeting" with Griffiths and "confirmed the need for urgent aid to enter all regions of Syria, including those under occupation and control of armed terrorist groups."
Brazil and Switzerland, who manage cross-border matters in Syria in the council, requested "rapid implementation" of the agreement to establish two new crossings.
Since the earthquake hit a week ago, the United Nations has been under intense pressure to bring additional relief and heavy equipment into Syria's rebel-held northwest since survivors lack the tools to dig for survivors, and the death toll continues to rise.
According to the rescue group, the White Helmets, the death toll in the region has reached 2,166. At the same time, the Syrian Health Ministry in Damascus reports that 1,414 people have perished in the government-held areas.
Related Article : Newborn Baby Survives Syria Earthquake
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