Official in Syria’s Raqqa warns of bad health services due to crossing closure
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – A health official in Raqqa, a city in northern Syria, warned on Sunday that free health care services would be affected by the continued closure of al-Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) border-crossing.
Al-Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) border-crossing is located on northeastern Syria on the Syrian-Iraqi border and was the most official crossing between the two countries prior to the Syrian conflict in 2011.
The UN Security Council is holding a meeting on July 9 to discuss the mechanism in which the humanitarian aid would enter Syria. The meeting coincides with concerns in northeastern Syria about the continued closure of al-Ya’rubiyah crossing.
Abdulhamid al-Hassan, head of the Union of Nurses and Medical Professions in Raqqa, said that the health services provided to the population free of charge were negatively and directly affected by the closure of the crossing.
The crossing is crucial for northeastern Syria, being the only door through which humanitarian and medical aid can enter the region, and “closing the crossing deprived the people of this aid,” al-Hassan said.
Separating humanitarian issues from political disputes “has become necessary to mitigate the humanitarian suffering of the population of northeastern Syria.” he added to North Press.
Al-Hassan believed that opening al-Ya’rubiyah border-crossing would improve the health care sector in the region and also improve the level of medical services provided to the residents.
The health care sector has been significantly damaged due to the fallouts of Syrian civil war on Syria in general, and on the region in particular, al-Hassan noted.
The recovery of the sector starts when it receives the required international aid.