Rebel infighting puts more strain on hospitals in Syria's Ghouta
In Eastern Ghouta, rebel infighting that erupted after the government forces lost control of the area has taken its toll on hospitals and medical facilities.
![AFP_O07K0 Syrians salvage medical items from a hospital following an air strike a rebel-controlled town in the eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on May 1, 2017.
/ AFP PHOTO / AMER ALMOHIBANY (Photo credit should read AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2017/06/GettyImages-675407398.jpg/GettyImages-675407398.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=qQ9CaKE1)
Last year, Hala al-Shami launched a medical initiative aimed at connecting amputee children from around Eastern Ghouta with local doctors. Children were bussed to a clinic and given access to much-needed physiotherapy, exercise space and even — when possible — prosthetic limbs, with parts smuggled from central Damascus through tunnels before being customized in underground workshops.
The children's stories were a testament to the incessant bombardment that Eastern Ghouta has experienced since falling from government control in 2013. But now there are added risks — from the ground as well as the sky.