Desperate conditions seen at Is-held Raqqa’s last hospital

BEIRUT — Only one health facility remains operational in the Islamic State-held part of Raqqa, serving thousands of civilians trapped in the Syrian city with virtually no emergency services or rescue personnel as the U.s.-backed campaign to liberate the city continues, Physicians for Human Rights said Friday.

The New York-based group described as “nightmarish” conditions in the ever-shrinking area controlled by IS amid an incessant bombing campaign. The wounded civilians are left under the rubble because civilians fear being struck by further airstrikes.

The lone operating hospital is using salt water to sanitize wounds, and treatment of traumatic injuries is limited to stopping the bleeding, the group said based on interviews it carried out with survivors, physicians and aid workers from the city.

The U.s.-led campaign, which began in earnest in June, left only the national hospital functioning at reduced capacity, as others were either bombed or closed, the group said.

One doctor who escaped in mid-august told PHR he operated out of his home because civilians feared going to the hospital in case it was shelled, or to avoid extortion by IS. Militants from the extremist group administer the hospital, which has been divided in two sections, one for civilians and another for the group’s fighters. Amid the campaign, the last of the hospital’s remaining services were forced underground, providing very basic medical care, PHR said.

In recent weeks, medical supplies dwindled and pharmacies were closed. The doctor finally left Raqqa after two of his colleagues were killed in airstrikes that struck their homes.

As he fled, his daughter was killed in a land mine explosion.

“Raqqa is a deathtrap where civilians who have already suffered for years under (IS) rule now also suffer the deadly consequences of the fight against (IS),” said Racha Mouawieh, Syria researcher for PHR.

The U.N. has estimated that up to 25,000 civilians remain trapped in the city, unable to leave either because IS holds them to use as human shields, or because of land mines along the roads and the heavy bombing.