Iraq News
Human Rights

ISIL occupation takes a toll on al-Raqa's health

By Waleed Abu al-Khair in Cairo

A Syrian child in the temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, which houses people who fled the 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' stronghold of al-Raqa. Years under ISIL rule has taken their toll on the health of al-Raqa's residents as the city can no longer support the demand for medical services. [Delil Souleiman/AFP]

A Syrian child in the temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, which houses people who fled the 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' stronghold of al-Raqa. Years under ISIL rule has taken their toll on the health of al-Raqa's residents as the city can no longer support the demand for medical services. [Delil Souleiman/AFP]

As winter falls on al-Raqa and the years under "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) control take their toll on the population's health, the Syrian city can no longer support the demand for medical services, medics tell Diyaruna.

Few doctors remain in the city, they said, and those who still practice must undergo "sharia" training developed by the group in order to treat patients.

ISIL has prevented medical and relief agencies from operating in areas under its control, they said, and there is an extreme shortage of medicines and medical equipment.

Al-Raqa's remaining medical facilities are operating at roughly 10% of capacity due to the shortage of medics, medicines and equipment, said al-Raqa Hospital nurse Feriyal al-Khatib, who asked to use a pseudonym out of fear for her safety.

ISIL has established its own medical school in al-Raqa, where physicians must undergo religious training before they can practice. [Photo courtesy of al-Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently]

ISIL has established its own medical school in al-Raqa, where physicians must undergo religious training before they can practice. [Photo courtesy of al-Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently]

Most medics have fled the city, she told Diyaruna, and those who remain are overburdened, and often lack the specialisations that residents need.

"Out of 850 male and female doctors who used to work in the area, mostly in the cities of al-Raqa and al-Tabqa, only about 10 remain, who do not even work in their own specialty," she said.

There is a severe shortage of specialised doctors, she said, noting that there is just one anesthesiologist in the entire province, one pediatrician, and two emergency physicians.

"Out of four state hospitals in the province, two in al-Tabqa and two in al-Raqa, only one floor in one hospital is active in al-Raqa, with fewer resources than any temporary medical centre, and the same is true of al-Thawra Hospital in al-Tabqa," she said.

ISIL has shut down many private medical centres and clinics, al-Khatib said, and has commandeered them to use as bases or barracks for its fighters.

ISIL pillaging medicine, equipment

ISIL has prevented medical and relief organisations from working and has shut down government hospitals without providing any alternatives, al-Khatib said.

The group's fighters also have pillaged a large quantity of medicines and medical equipment from area hospitals for their own use, al-Khatib said.

"The city, which previously provided medical services to the surrounding area, has come to suffer from a lack of equipment and medicines," she said.

"The available medicines are smuggled and sold for high prices and there are absolutely no cheap or free medicines," she said.

This has exacerbated the condition of many patients, she added, especially those with serious illnesses such as cancer, liver disease and blood disorders.

There are no dialysis machines or incubators for babies in the area, she said, and diseases have been spreading due to the lack of sanitation services.

ISIL interrogated Deir Ezzor medics and then told a large number of them that they must prepare to transfer to Mosul and al-Raqa, said Nureddine al-Jammal, a Damascus University medical student and Deir Ezzor field hospital volunteer.

"Most of those who have received the notifications are surgeons, orthopaedists, and emergency physicians," he told Diyaruna, noting that most currently practice in the Albu Kamal and al-Mayadeen area.

"Field hospitals and medical equipment also have been taken from the area without giving a reason, and it was later discovered that they have been transferred to hospitals in al-Raqa," he said.

This indicates the group is preparing for casualties ahead of the battle to liberate al-Raqa, al-Jammal said.

ISIL controls medical permits

"Since ISIL’s terrorists overtook the city of al-Raqa and the rural area around it, most doctors have left for other areas," said Nasser al-Ali, an al-Raqa resident who asked to use a pseudonym out of fear for his safety.

"Only a small number of no more than 10 doctors remain in the city, including four female doctors," he told Diyaruna.

"The remaining doctors only received a permit to practice their profession after undergoing sharia courses in the organisation’s sharia centres," he said.

Patients with serious conditions must pay large sums of money to ISIL leaders to be allowed to transfer to Turkey or other parts of the country for treatment, al-Ali said.

These fees can be as high as $3,000, he said, adding that patients should either travel alone or they can be accompanied by one person only if they cannot travel on their own.

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