URGENT ACTION
35 ill and injured evacuated from eastern ghouta
A further 35 patients awaiting medical evacuation in besieged Eastern Ghouta have been evacuated to Damascus city for medical treatment and care. 496 patients are still awaiting evacuation. They require urgent medical treatment.
On 12 March, the armed group Jaish al-Islam and Russia agreed to allow the UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to evacuate injured and ill civilians from Douma, a town in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus city. On 13 March, 35 ill and injured were evacuated to Damascus city for medical treatment. Medics told Amnesty International that 33 of the evacuees were among the 529 patients awaiting evacuation since July 2017. A further two patients had recently been evacuated due to the severity of their injuries.
The previous medical evacuation took place on 27 December 2017 when the Syrian government approved the medical evacuation of 29 critical cases of the 558 patients from Eastern Ghouta. This evacuation was completed on 29 December 2017, with 17 children, six women, and six men transferred to hospitals in Damascus, where they are being treated for serious injuries or medical conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and kidney failure. Eastern Ghouta has been besieged by government forces for six year; the area is home to around 400,000 civilians.
We will continue monitoring the situation in Eastern Ghouta and will be sharing all relevant updates and actions on our story page, available here.
Thank you to all those who sent appeals. No further action is requested from the UA network.
This is the second update of UA 275/17. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde24/7665/2018/en/

Name: 572 individuals in Eastern Ghouta
Gender m/f: all

Further information on UA: 275/17 Index: MDE 24/8061/2018 Issue Date: 15 March 2018