Baladi News – Damascus Countryside (Mohammed Anas)
Lebanese military helicopters carried out several airstrikes on the barren hills of Arsal town near the Syrian borders on Saturday night. Simultaneously, heavy artillery was conducted against the hills of Western Qalamoun by the Lebanese army.
“The makeshift hospital inside the Syrian refugee camp of Arsal was almost completely destroyed after the Lebanese army forces targeted it with guided missiles, wounding and killing a number of civilians including two medical workers,” said Abou Al Joud Al Qalamouni, the spokesperson of Yabroud’s Local Coordination Committee.
According to the spokesperson, the makeshift hospital, located in an area between the barren hills of the Lebanese town of Arsal and the Syrian town of Flita, is a civilian area with no armed manifestations. This hospital provides medical treatments for about 15 thousand Syrian refugees facing harsh living conditions , and who are not allowed to leave their camps to Arsal or any other Lebanese towns despite the frequent calls by the UN and other organizations.
The hospital includes basic medical equipment and medicines for Syrian refugees suffering from diseases or wounded due to hitting the camps by the Lebanese army under the pretext of fighting against terrorism according to the spokesperson.
Dr. Munther Barakat, general secretary of The Syrian Public Body in Yabroud city, said to Baladi News, “The Syrian regime, as well as the Iranians and Hezbollah, are following the hostile policy of targeting hospitals, bakeries, and vital centers. This time, the Lebanese army directly attacked the medical point, following a crackdown policy against Syrian refugees.”
He also indicated that the shelling, which was conducted without warning, destroyed the only hospital for the refugees and killed a doctor and a nurse, making it impossible to renovate the building and get a new medical staff.