Geneva, Rabi'I 18, 1438, Dec 17, 2016, SPA -- The World Health Organization is calling for medical evacuation of the sick and injured from east Aleppo to be resumed as quickly as possible. Almost 200 patients were safely transferred to hospitals in western rural Aleppo, Idlib and Turkey before all evacuations were aborted, leaving many more in need of medical care stranded. In a statement issued by the WHO, “the medical evacuation has only been underway for 24 hours, and there are still large numbers of women, infants and children under five amongst those who need medical care,” says WHO Syria Representative, Elizabeth Hoff in Aleppo. “They had to leave the collection area and return to their houses. We hope that the evacuation will resume promptly.” The medical evacuation is being managed with the WHO field presence in Gaziantep, Turkey, from which 113 ambulances as well as 17 mobile teams have been deployed and coordinated. Eight hospitals in western rural Aleppo, Idlib, as well as hospitals in Turkey, are treating the medical evacuees, the majority of whom are suffering from trauma injuries. Medical supplies sufficient for more than 279,000 treatments and 6000 surgeries have been provided by WHO to ensure evacuees can receive the level of care they need. --SPA 13:18 LOCAL TIME 10:18 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w292322