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Activists demand action on deaths of medics in war

BRITISH doctors and nurses will stand in solidarity with Syrian health workers today after Aleppo’s last paediatrician was killed by an air strike last week.

Physicians, human rights campaigners, charity workers and reporters will march to Trafalgar Square with Syrian activists in the first event of the Medics Under Fire group.

The campaign wants the British government to do more to protect medical practitioners in warzones around the globe.

“The war in Syria has brought healthcare workers onto the front line,” said conflict surgeon David Nott.

“Tragically, international law has been discarded in Syria and medical workers are now targets as if they were enemy combatants.

“We cannot have a situation in which the destruction of hospitals or murder of medical workers becomes part of a military strategy.

“This ignores fundamental international legal principles that have persisted for centuries.”

This week, a UN resolution was passed condemning attacks on medical facilities and personnel, garnering the applause of international medical charities like the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

Mr Nott said the document was a start, but that “the international community must now come together to say enough is enough.

“Elementary international laws must be adhered to and we cannot let crimes go undocumented or uninvestigated.

“Medics Under Fire, in close co-operation with our friends across the humanitarian and medical services, will work tirelessly to highlight this crisis and ensure the fearless medical workers in conflict zones are protected.”

The group will deliver PM David Cameron a list of demands on the protection of doctors working in warzones signed by a list of renowned experts including former foreign secretary Lord Owen.

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