A Syrian man disabled as a result of an attack by Syrian regime forces is struggling for something like normalcy in the wake of his extensive injuries.
Now 49 years old, Abdulsamed Diyab, who originally hails from Khan Sheikhoun, a town in the northern Idlib province, lost both arms, an eye, and the ability to walk as a result of a 2014 airstrike.
Though his children and relatives did their best to help him, Diyab badly needs prosthetic arms to carry out many tasks in his daily life.
Telling how after the airstrike he got medical treatment in nearby Türkiye, he praised Turkish doctors' professionalism and interest in his case.
Underlining that he mostly got used to living without arms, Diyab said he uses his nose to make use of his cell phone.
"I need prosthetic arms to be more self-sufficient and so put less burden on the shoulders of my loved ones," he added.
The Idlib region bordering Türkiye is home to about 3 million people and it is one of the last pockets to oppose Damascus.
For years, the Bashar Assad regime has ignored the needs and safety of the Syrian people, only eyeing further territorial gains and crushing the opposition. With this aim, the regime has for years bombed civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals and residential areas, causing the displacement of almost half of the country's population.
The Idlib de-escalation zone was forged under an agreement between Türkiye and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire agreements, which have been frequently violated by the Assad regime and its allies.
A fragile truce was brokered between Moscow and Ankara in March 2020 in response to months of fighting by the Russia-backed regime. Almost a million people have fled the Assad regime’s offensive yet the regime still frequently carries out attacks on civilians, hindering most from returning to their homes and forcing them to stay in makeshift camps.
