25 October 2021
A number of mortar shells hit Istarlin Hospital in Guri’el yesterday, disrupting the hospital’s medical services to residents.
Dr. Kahiye Osman Omar, a staff member at Istartin Hospital, said the mortars destroyed medical equipment.
He said mortars had hit the hospital, which had suffered heavy casualties in the past 24 hours.
Speaking to VOA, he said: “The situation has been better since this morning. Since this morning we were at work dealing with the injuries. Our hospital was hit by three mortar shells. One of the rooms we were working on caught fire. especially the inpatient unit, the emergency department, our x-ray & computer unit and the most important part of the operating theater, all of which were hit by mortars. We fled for our lives, we took as many patients as we could, and the rest were taken by their people. ”
He added: “No one was harmed, but the large number of people who have been brought in since yesterday are in critical condition.”
Speaking about the condition of their staff, he said, “The hospital staff are fine and safe. We came out safely. We had to walk a bit to the middle of the street and we could not get cars to pass.”
He said their staff was at risk from one of the opposing factions in the city.
“We were walking in the middle of the road, men in defense shot at us. We ran away and we are fine,” he said. Kahiye Osman Omar.
Dr. Kahiye Osman said, “Most of the workers have gone to nearby areas, some to Mataban and some to Dhusamareb.”
“We have closed the main hospital in the district, as there is no place to operate the hospital, and the place has become a battlefield,” he said. We did our best from yesterday to last night, as we were awake yesterday, from the beginning of the shooting until now we are still awake, none of our staff have slept. Despite our hard work and fatigue, our workplaces burned down. ”
Dr. Kahiye Osman noted that another medical facility in the town was closed on Sunday after being hit by artillery shells.
“Two of the major facilities are out of use, such as the district’s main hospital and another in the area, one burned yesterday and one burned today. It looks like the targets are the health facilities,” he said. Kahiye Osman
The situation in Guri’el remains uncertain, with rival factions still facing each other in the city.