Syria: Newborn Baby Rescued From Hospital After Earthquake Attack

BEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen stormed a hospital in northern Syria where a girl born under the rubble of her earthquake-destroyed home is receiving treatment, a clinic official said, adding that the assailants had beaten the director.

The official dismissed reports on social media that Monday night’s attack was an attempted kidnapping of the girl, named Aya, which means “a sign from God” in Arabic. Aya was hospitalized hours after the February 6 earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria. His mother, father and four siblings died in the disaster.

The baby has been followed closely since birth and many people around the world have offered to help.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the hospital director suspected a nurse who was taking pictures of Aya of planning to kidnap her and fired him. The nurse returned hours later with the gunmen, who beat the manager, the official said. The director’s wife is breastfeeding Aya, medical sources reported Monday.

Arriving at the hospital, the attackers told the officers guarding the girl that they were seeking to punish the manager for firing their friend and that they were not interested in Aya, the official said.

Several people have come forward to falsely say they are related to Aya, which is why she is in custody with local police.

Aya could be discharged from hospital within hours or days, according to her great-uncle Saleh al-Badran. She said the baby’s paternal aunt, who recently gave birth and survived the earthquake, will raise him.

Rescuers in the Syrian town of Jinderis discovered the girl about 10 hours after the earthquake as they cleared the rubble of the building where her parents lived. She was still attached by the umbilical cord to her deceased mother, Afraa Abu Hadiya. She was taken to hospital in Afrin where she has remained ever since.