SYRIA: CAR EXPLOSION STRIKES PEOPLE FLEEING FIGHTING IN NORTHEAST

NOVEMBER 20, 2017—A hospital supported by teams from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in northeastern Syria received 52 patients after a car exploded near the city of al-Hasakah on November 17.

The explosion killed and injured people as they fled fighting in Deir ez-Zor. Three of those who reached the MSF-supported hospital were in very critical condition, and other victims were likely unable to reach the hospital.

A patient gave MSF staff members the following account: "I was traveling with my family and with lots of people in a truck. We fled Deir ez-Zor because of the war, and I was on my way to al-Hasakah. We arrived at a checkpoint near Rojava [a name for northeastern Syria used by some Kurds], and there a car exploded. I lost two of my brothers, and I was brought here to the hospital with my two sons."

Satoru Ida, MSF head of mission in Syria, said: "The ongoing fighting in Syria continues to claim innocent people's lives. We suspect many people died before making it to the hospital due to the restrictions on movement in the area."