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Kurdish defenders in the besieged town of Kobani have been forced to carry the wounded in private cars, a local doctor warned on Saturday.
“Our last two ambulances have been destroyed. We could only take out the stretchers. The rest is junk,” one of the town's last doctors, Welat Xelîl Omer told Hawar News.
According to Omer, Islamic State group fighters had already razed Kobani's three hospitals with artillery fire before turning their sights on the ambulances. Omer accused the militant group of intentionally hitting the emergency vehicles after Kurdish defenders gained ground earlier this week.
He stated health workers are now having “great difficulties” transporting the wounded to improvised medical centers.
“We would be grateful if we could urgently receive some ambulances,” the doctor said.
As medical supplies dwindle in the town, other Kurdish activists have accused Turkish border authorities of letting wounded Kurdish troops die at the frontier.
Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, activist Blesa Omar said he brought three Kurdish troops to the Turkish border for treatment, but was held up for more than four hours. All three troops died while border guards refused to allow them to pass.
“Once the soldiers realized they were dead, they said, 'Now you can cross with the bodies.' I cannot forget that. It was total chaos, it was a catastrophe,” he said.
Turkey has denied the allegations, with one senior government figure, public diplomacy director Cemalettin Hasimi describing Omar's story as “preposterous.”
“Anyone who needs humanitarian aid is taken in, without any discrimination,” Hasimi stated.
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