Gunmen raided a hospital in northern Syria where the baby girl who was born under the rubble of her earthquake-ravaged home is being held. According to what The Independent writes , the news was confirmed by a hospital official who added that the perpetrators raped the director of the hospital.
The official denied reports on social media that the overnight attack was an attempt to kidnap the baby, named Aya. The little girl is in the hospital hours after Monday's deadly earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6.
Aya's mother (in Arabic, sign from God) died after giving birth to the girl. When she was found, she still had the umbilical cord in her body... Her father and 4 siblings were also killed by the shaking.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear, said the hospital director had suspected that a nurse who was taking pictures of Aya was planning to kidnap her, so he kicked her out of the hospital. The nurse returned a few hours later, accompanied by armed men who beat the director. The latter's wife was breastfeeding Aya.
When they arrived at the hospital, the gunmen told the officers who were protecting the girl that they were after the director of the hospital, after he had fired their friend. They said they were not interested in Aya, the official further confessed.
It is learned that over the past few days, many people had presented themselves at the hospital claiming to be Aya's relatives, which forced the authorities to deploy police officers to guard her.
Her uncle, Saleh al-Badran said that the girl will be able to leave the hospital during these days. He said that it will be the aunt, who survived the earthquake and recently gave birth to a child, who will raise Aya.
Rescue workers in the northern Syrian city of Jinder discovered the black-haired newborn girl more than 10 hours after the earthquake struck as they searched under the rubble of a five-story building where her family lived. Trapped under the concrete, the baby was still connected by the umbilical cord to her mother Afraa Abu Hadiya. The baby was rushed to the nearest hospital in Afrin, where she is currently.
Footage of her rescue operation caught the attention of the world's media on the first day of the rescue operation. A few days later it was reported in the media that thousands of people inside and outside the country had offered to adopt him.