COX’s BAZAR, Bangladesh: The Zayed Al Khair convoys have provided treatment to over 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, at the Zayed Humanitarian Volunteer Hospital since its launch in September 2017.
Medical relief was provided under the supervision of a specialist medical volunteer team from the UAE and Bangladesh and as part of the Zayed Humanitarian Campaign to treat underprivileged persons, coinciding with the Year of Zayed initiative.
The campaign is part of a joint campaign by the Zayed Giving Initiative, Dar Al Ber Society, Sharjah Charity House and the Saudi-German Hospitals Group, supervised by the Emirates Programme for Community and Specialized Volunteering.
Dr. Reem Othman, Humanitarian Action Ambassador, said that the convoys are operating at their current station in Cox’s Bazar in coordination with official authorities and in partnership with local medical institutions in Bangladesh, to support their work and enable them to effectively participate in the UAE-Bangladesh Volunteer Medical Team.
The Emirati heart surgeon, Adel Al Shameri, CEO of Zayed Giving Initiative and President of UAE Doctors, said that the diagnostic, treatment and preventive services provided by the convoys have improved the level of services for children, the elderly and refugees while adding that over 30,000 children and elderly Rohingya patients were treated since the official launch of the field hospital in September, which is the first Arab hospital in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Omran Mohammed Abdullah, Head of Zayed Al Khair Convoys Medical Team and Chairman of the Charity Projects Sector at Dar Al Ber Society, said that the hospital will continue providing its services to Rohingya refugees for another year, which could be extended if their tragic situation continues.
Sultan Al Khayyal, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Giving Initiative and Secretary-General of Sharjah Charity House, said that the campaign involving the convoys and field hospital consists of three phases. The first included the established of mobile clinics in the refugee camps, which are supervised by a medical team from the UAE and Bangladesh. The second was the launch of a mobile hospital with a ten-bed capacity while specialist medical teams were stationed in the camps to provide free medical services, in coordination with partner humanitarian organization. The third phase, which will be launched if necessary, will involve establishing a field hospital with a 20 to 30-bed capacity.
Zayed Al Khair convoys provide treatment to 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Zayed Al Khair convoys provide treatment to 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
- The campaign is part of a joint campaign by the Zayed Giving Initiative, Dar Al Ber Society, Sharjah Charity House and the Saudi-German Hospitals Group
- over 30,000 children and elderly Rohingya patients were treated since the official launch of the field hospital in September 2017, says CEO of Zayed Giving Initiative
Shooter kills 9 at Canadian school and residence
- The shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
- A total of 27 people were wounded in the shooting, including two with serious injuries
TORONTO: A shooter killed nine people and wounded dozens more at a secondary school and a residence in a remote part of western Canada on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country’s history.
The suspect, described by police in an initial emergency alert as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
The attack occurred in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, a picturesque mountain valley town in the foothills of the Rockies.
A total of 27 people were wounded in the shooting, including two with serious injuries, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the “horrific acts of violence” and announced he was suspending plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday, where he had been set to hold talks with allies on transatlantic defense readiness.
Police said an alert was issued about an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon.
As police searched the school, they found six people shot dead. A seventh person with a gunshot wound died en route to hospital.
Separately, police found two more bodies at a residence in the town.
The residence is “believed to be connected to the incident,” police said.
At the school, “an individual believed to be the shooter was also found deceased with what appears to be a self?inflicted injury,” police said.
Police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.
“We are devastated by the loss of life and the profound impact this tragedy has had on families, students, staff, and our entire town,” the municipality of Tumbler Ridge said in a statement.
Tumbler Ridge student Darian Quist told public broadcaster CBC that he was in his mechanics class when there was an announcement that the school was in lockdown.
He said that initially he “didn’t think anything was going on,” but started receiving “disturbing” photos about the carnage.
“It set in what was happening,” Quist said.
He said he stayed in lockdown for more than two hours until police stormed in, ordering everyone to put their hands up before escorting them out of the school.
Trent Ernst, a local journalist and a former substitute teacher at Tumbler Ridge, expressed shock over the shooting at the school, where one of his children has just graduated.
He noted that school shootings have been a rarity occurring every few years in Canada compared with the United States, where they are far more frequent.
“I used to kind of go: ‘Look at Canada, look at who we are.’ But then that one school shooting every 2.5 years happens in your town and things... just go off the rails,” he told AFP.
‘Heartbreak’
While mass shootings are extremely rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, said it was “one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee, whose athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, said Wednesday it was “heartbroken by the news of the horrific school shooting.”
Ken Floyd, commander of the police’s northern district, said: “This has been an incredibly difficult and emotional day for our community, and we are grateful for the cooperation shown as officers continue their work to advance the investigation.”
Floyd told reporters the shooter was the same suspect police described as “female” in a prior emergency alert to community members, but declined to provide any details on the suspect’s identity.
The police said officers were searching other homes and properties in the community to see if there were additional sites connected to the incident.
Tumbler Ridge, a quiet town with roughly 2,400 residents, is more than 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city.
“There are no words sufficient for the heartbreak our community is experiencing tonight,” the municipality said.
