Aleppo: WHO urges safe routes for wounded, sick

In this photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, rescue workers check the damage inside the Syrian Civil Defense main center after airstrikes in Ansari neighborhood in the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, Syria, Sept 23, 2016.

GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Tuesday for sick and wounded people in the embattled eastern part of the Syrian city of Aleppo to be evacuated through safe corridors for treatment.

A massive Russian-backed assault is under way on the besieged rebel-held sector of Aleppo, where the WHO said only 35 doctors remained to care for at least 250,000 people.

"WHO is calling for the immediate establishment of humanitarian routes to evacuate sick and wounded from the eastern part of the city," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a news briefing in Geneva.