Press Release

Civilian Casualties in Al Atareb and Aleppo City, Syria - Joint Statement

22 March 2021

The United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Mr. Imran Riza, and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Mr. Muhannad Hadi, strongly condemn the artillery shelling that caused significant civilian casualties on 21 March.

 

Artillery shells hit the Al Atareb Surgical Hospital (also known as Al Maghara Hospital), in Aleppo governorate. The incident has reportedly resulted in at least six deaths among patients and visitors, including a ten-year-old boy, and injured 16 civilians, including five medical staff. The hospital also sustained major damage, including to the orthopaedic and emergency clinics.

Civilian casualties have also been reported on 21 March in the neighbourhoods of Al Firdous and Al Saliheen in Aleppo City, as a result of artillery shelling. Reports indicate that two were killed and 17 people have been injured, including two children.

Mr. Riza and Mr. Hadi condemn these incidents and pass on the deepest of condolences to the families of all those who were killed or injured. Syria has been a dangerous place for all civilians, including humanitarian aid and health workers. Attacks on hospitals have seriously impeded access and the right to health, depriving life-saving care to civilians.

Mr. Riza and Mr. Hadi call on the parties to the conflict to respect the special protection afforded to hospitals as well as the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks, and their obligation to take all feasible precautions under international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians.

For further information:

Danielle Moylan, Spokesperson OCHA Syria, moylan@un.org Torsten Flyng, Strategic Communications Officer OCHA Regional Office for the Syrian Crisis, torsten.flyng@un.org

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.

Adam Abdelmoula

Adam Abdelmoula

RCO
Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator
abdelmoula@un.org
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Mr. Abdelmoula brings more than 35 years of experience in development, rule of law, human rights, humanitarian work and security, of which the last 24 have been with the UN.
Prior to his appointment as United Nations Resident Coordinator, he was serving as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, where he led the UN’s development and humanitarian activities amid the worst drought in generations, political instability, disease outbreaks and a looming famine.
Prior to this, Mr. Abdelmoula held different positions within the UN System, including as Director of the UN Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Country Director for Iraq at the UN Development Programme (UNDP); Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative in Syria and Kuwait, Chief of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Section at OHCHR, Deputy Chief of the United Nations Mission in Liberia Human Rights Division, Chief Human Rights Officer of the United Nation Assistant Mission for Iraq and Senior Rule of Law and Human Rights Adviser for Somalia.
Before joining the UN, Mr. Abdelmoula worked for several international and regional organizations including Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Arab Lawyers Union and the Fund for Peace.
Mr. Abdelmoula has a doctorate in public international law from Georgetown University, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School and Bachelor of Law from Khartoum University.

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