DOHA: Qatari charitable organisations have launched an emergency relief campaign to support the Syrians hit by the heavy bombing in the city of Aleppo, as the Arab League has agreed with a proposal by Qatar to hold an emergency meeting at the level of permanent delegates to discuss the situation. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
Nearly 30 air strikes hit rebel-held areas of Syria’s northern city of Aleppo yesterday and the total number of people killed after nine straight days of bombardment reached nearly 250, news agencies reported, quoting a monitoring group.
Qatar’s Envoy at the Arab League sent a memo to the Arab League General-Secretariat, calling for an urgent meeting to discuss the dangerous escalation of violence in Aleppo where civilians are subjected to massacres at the hands of the forces of the Syrian regime, Qatar News Agency reported yesterday.
The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have strongly condemned the air strikes that have resulted in the death of more than 200 civilians including children over last week.
Qatar Charity (QC) was the first Qatari humanitarian body to reach Aleppo through its field team and launched an emergency relief campaign. QC has allocated QR10m as emergency aid.
QC’s relief campaign started yesterday, distributing food packets to families hit by the heavy shelling. It is preparing to provide care to the injured and meet the shortage of medicine and medical staff in healthcare facilities in Aleppo.
Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has also initiated an urgent relief intervention to provide medical supplies, food and fuel to Syrians in Aleppo costing $200,000.
Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) yesterday announced a new relief campaign called “For Aleppo” in collaboration with the Holy Quran Radio aimed at supporting field hospitals to treat the wounded in Aleppo and other Syrian cities.
In a press statement, RAF said that it will broadcast in cooperation with the Holy Quran Radio a session tomorrow, which will host a number of preachers and other personalities to raise awareness about the Syrian people’s tragedy and Muslims’ responsibility to alleviate their suffering, especially children, women and the elderly.
The two-hour episode will be broadcast from 8pm to 9pm, to collect donations to support field hospitals and strengthening the capacity of health system in Aleppo and its countryside. Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammed Al Thani Charity Foundation announced that it has put its emergency crews on full alert to reach the affected areas, transport the wounded and provide the injured in Aleppo with emergency first aid.
In a statement issued yesterday the Foundation said it has 40 ambulances and about 150 paramedics within its emergency crews operating in northern Syria, adding that 25 cars have moved to participate in rescue operations and transport the wounded in the city of Aleppo.
Meanwhile, the OIC Secretary General, Iyad Ameen Madani, called on the international community, particularly the sides that joined the initiative to impose the cessation of hostilities in Syria, for rapid intervention to stop the massacres.
Madani said targeting hospitals has to be considered as war crimes and the Syrian regime must be held accountable for it and that the sides supporting the regime must be held responsible for the continuation of these violations.
The US has demanded that Russia restrain the Syrian regime to stop its attacks against civilians and medical facilities. Russia said that it would not ask Damascus to halt air raids on Aleppo.
Once Syria’s economic hub, Aleppo and its surrounding countryside have suffered some of the worst fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions. US Secretary of State John Kerry was to travel Sunday to Geneva in a show of support for the truce and will meet the UN envoy to Syria and the Jordanian and Saudi foreign ministers. A new round of UN-backed peace talks is set to start on May 10 in Geneva.
The Peninsula
