At Least 6.5 Million People Gone From Syria Amid Civil War

A total of 6.5 million people, including doctors, have left Syria amid a civil war in the country, Michiel Hofman, a senior humanitarian specialist for the Humanitarian Innovation Team of the MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders humanitarian group) said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – "Most of the doctors and medical personnel have left the country – a total of 6.5 million people have left Syria," Hofman said in a Friday interview with the Russian Izvestia newspaper.

The humanitarian specialist stressed that Syria used to be one of the top Middle Eastern states in terms of healthcare before the civil war erupted in the country. However, according to Hofman, there are still enough doctors in Syria despite the outflow.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Islamic State (ISIL, also known as Daesh) and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, both of which are banned in a range of countries.

According to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, unofficial estimates show that at least 400,000 people have been killed in the past five years of civil war in Syria.