SYRIA: Red Cross aid workers are turned away from the Syrian city of Homs due to fighting

Record ID: 281076

  • Title: SYRIA: Red Cross aid workers are turned away from the Syrian city of Homs due to fighting
  • Date: 22nd June 2012
  • Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (JUNE 21, 2012) (REUTERS) SYRIAN ARAB RED CRESCENT PRESIDENT, ABDUL RAHMAN AL-ATTAR, ENTERING HIS OFFICE ATTAR SITTING BEHIND HIS DESK ATTAR'S EYES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN ARAB RED CRESCENT PRESIDENT, ABDUL RAHMAN AL-ATTAR, SAYING: "We were promised we could attempt to enter the city at 10:00. The Red Cross and Red Crescent tried to entered at 10
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAEQ091MNUTGUOC7MSY5AYATJCX
  • Story Text: The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said on Thursday (June 21) its aid workers had been forced to turn back on the way into the old city of Homs in Syria because of continued violence, but workers would try again to begin evacuating wounded and sick later in the day.
    "We were promised we could attempt to enter the city at 10:00. The Red Cross and Red Crescent tried to entered at 10 but because of the conditions and the difficulty of securing the entrance it was postponed until 17:00 local time. We call on all parties to secure and facilitate our mission because our work is humanitarian and we work independently and neutrally," Syrian Arab Red Crescent President, Abdul Rahman Al-Attar, said.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday (June 20) that Syrian forces and armed rebels had agreed to its request for a humanitarian truce to evacuate trapped civilians and the wounded after more than 10 days of intense fighting.
    "Our mission is inside Syria. The International Committee of the Red Cross is responsible for contacting all parties. I hope that all military operations will stop so we can carry out our humanitarian work," Al-Attar said.
    Homs has been at the centre of the 15-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Syria said on Tuesday it was trying to evacuate civilians from Homs and blamed rebel fighters for obstructing efforts to get people out safely.
    The top priority was to evacuate wounded and sick people to safer areas for medical treatment, in line with international humanitarian law, the ICRC said. The agency was also seeking to bring "much-needed aid" and medical supplies to the local branch of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Homs.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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