SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC：
10-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN NEED OF SURGERY EVACUATED

Ghina Ahmad Wadi, a 10-year-old girl, was shot in the leg on 2 August by a sniper at a government checkpoint in Madaya, a town west of Damascus besieged by Syrian government forces since July 2015. Syrian government forces have blocked her evacuation to a hospital in Damascus or Lebanon to receive urgently needed surgery.

A close relative told Amnesty International that Ghina Ahmad Wadi and her 8-year-old sister were on their way to buy medicine for their mother at around 11am on 2 August when they were both wounded at Abdel Majed checkpoint in Madaya, a town west of Damascus controlled by Syrian government forces and allied with Hizbullah fighters. The relative said that Ghina Ahmad Wadi was shot in her left thigh by a sniper, causing a complex bone fracture and a nerve cut. She added that her sister was also injured.

The Syrian government siege on Madaya since July 2015 has impeded access to medical and humanitarian aid and barred civilian movement beyond government checkpoints. A doctor working in a field hospital in Madaya told Amnesty International that Ghina Ahmad Wadi needs urgent surgery. He added that the surgery cannot be conducted in Madaya field hospital due to the lack of specialist surgeons and shortage of essential medicine and medical equipment, which are all due to the government siege. Ghina Ahmad Wadi has only been provided with sedatives, including morphine, which ease the pain for 10 to 15 minutes only. She is otherwise in extreme pain.

Ghina Ahmad Wadi’s family have requested permission in the past week from the Syrian government to allow humanitarian agencies to evacuate her to a hospital in Damascus or Lebanon but so far that request has been denied.

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UA: 190/16 Index: MDE 24/4642/2016 Issue Date: 11 August 2016

Ghina Ahmad Wadi, a 10-year-old girl seriously wounded by sniper fire at a Syrian government checkpoint on 2 August, was successfully evacuated to Damascus to receive the urgent surgery she needed.

Ghina Ahmad Wadi, a 10-year-old Syrian girl shot in the leg on 2 August by a sniper at a government checkpoint in Madaya, a town west of Damascus besieged by Syrian government forces in alliance with Hizbullah fighters, was evacuated to a hospital in Damascus on 13 August to receive the urgent surgery she needed. 

Ghina Ahmad Wadi and her 8-year-old sister were on their way to buy medicine for their mother at around 11am on 2 August when they were both wounded at Abdel Majed checkpoint in Madaya. The Syrian government forces had blocked her evacuation to a hospital to receive urgently needed surgery. A relative said that Ghina Ahmad Wadi was shot in her left thigh by a sniper, causing a complex bone fracture and a nerve cut. She added that her sister was also injured.

According to the Syrian Red Crescent, Ghina Ahmad Wadi and her mother were escorted from the besieged town of Madaya to Damascus overnight on 13 August. Ghina Ahmad Wadi’s surgery was successful and she is currently recovering. 

No further action is requested from UA network. Thank you to all those who sent appeals.