+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Syrian Snipers Appear To Be Targeting Pregnant Woman

Oct 20, 2013, 00:29 IST

APSmoke from burning tires set by opposition fighters overcasts what it used to be a residential area during their fighting against Syrian government forces in Maaret al-Numan in the Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013.

Syrian snipers appear to be targeting pregnant women, a British surgeon said Saturday after returning from the conflict zone.

Advertisement

David Nott, who spent five weeks volunteering at a Syrian hospital, told The Times newspaper the gunshot wounds he had treated also indicated that bored snipers were targeting particular parts of civilians' bodies in a bid to entertain themselves.

"One day it would be shots to the groin. The next, it would only be the left chest," he told the newspaper.

"From the first patients that came in in the morning, you could almost tell what you would see for the rest of the day. It was a game."

Nott, a prominent surgeon who counts former prime minister Tony Blair as an ex-patient, said he had treated more than half a dozen shot pregnant women on one day in the Syrian city, which he did not identify for security reasons.

Advertisement

On another day, two consecutive gunshot patients were heavily pregnant women, both of whom lost their babies.

"The women were all shot through the uterus, so that must have been where they were aiming for," he told The Times.

"I can't even begin to tell you how awful it was. Usually, civilians are caught in the crossfire. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this. This was deliberate. It was hell beyond hell."

Nott, who usually works as a vascular surgeon at London's Westminster and Chelsea hospital, has been volunteering as an emergency surgeon in warzones for 20 years, including Bosnia, Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article