Report from Syria: Hundreds of Wounded are Trapped, Humanitarian Corridor Needed

17 October 2019
Sari Kani, Syria

Dear friends,

We are near Sari Kani, north of Tel Tamir, where hundreds of wounded people are trapped; a ceasefire has been announced and if it holds we are planning to use this opportunity to evacuate wounded people trapped by the Turkish and FSA assault.

Sari Kani has a hospital but it is surrounded and has been damaged by airstrikes and shelling. We don’t know how many patients and staff are there.

Right now, what is needed is a humanitarian air corridor as soon as possible to save lives.

Please read our statistics below. I am up at the front and we cannot get further through the Turkish airstrikes.

Syrian family fleeing on a motorbike

Numbers for this area near Sari Kani, north of Tal Tamir:

Wounded: 653 (including 35 wounded children)   Many of the injured are trapped by Turkish airstrikes and cannot move to aid.

Killed by airstrikes and shelling: 218 civilians (18 children)

Displaced People:

150,000 people have fled the Sari Kani area

150,000 have fled Tel Abyad

60,000 have fled Kobani

5 SDF medics have been killed, 1 in an airstrike, 4 captured on the road and executed; 5 have been wounded

4 ambulances have been hit by air strikes.

The Casualty Collection Point (CCP) 15 kilometers north of Tel Tamir was destroyed by an airstrike on 12 October.

There are still civilians in Sari Kani.

In Tal Tamir there is a hospital with 50 staff, including 7 doctors. Patients are treated and sent to Hassaka and Qamishli for better care.

There is no other outside assistance or medical care.

The front line here is 35 kms north of Tal Tamir at Sari Kani  and west of Tel Tamir 20 kilometers in Aleaa. The Turks and FSA are attacking from the north and west.

FBR is providing relief and medical care for the wounded and IDPs and will help evacuate wounded and civilians if the ceasefire holds.

Thank you and God bless you,

David Eubank

Free Burma Rangers