83 doctors martyred since start of crisis in Syria

The head of Syria’s Doctors Union Abdul Qader Hasan has announced that 83 doctors were martyred during the crisis in the country, indicating that a female doctor was martyred last Tuesday while she was doing her job in Aleppo province.

He told the Damascus-based al-watan newspaper that the doctors have been systematically targeted by terrorists since the beginning of the crisis in 2011.

“The doctors were targeted in order to instil fear in them and to force them to leave the country.

But most of them decided to stay in the country and to practice their career,” Dr. Hasan said, adding that 2500 young doctors are pursuing competence after they completed their study in the faculty of medicine in Damascus.

He asserted that the total number of doctors in Syria is 31.000.

“Many doctors have received offers of high-paying jobs in Gulf states but they have refused them,” Dr. Hasan declared, referring to the medical achievements realized during the crisis despite the difficult circumstances facing the health sector.

“For the first time, liver transplant surgery was done in Syria at a cost of Syrian Pound 3 million paid by the cabinet during the crisis,”  he added, pointing out that the bill of medical institutes is being discussed in the parliament.

Basma Qaddour