AL-BAB, Syria

Five years after an artillery shell by the Syrian regime struck his home and left him handicapped, Abdullah Abu al-Homsi, 18, still awaits help to make his life better.

In 2015, regime forces attacked the house of the young man in Homs province in 2015, an attack that left al-Homsi handicapped. This has made his condition even worse as the Syrian youth was born with a mild intellectual disability.

The attack also resulted in the death of al-Homsi's brother and forced his family to flee to Idlib, and then to the city of al-Bab, in the countryside of Aleppo.

Because of the regime assault, al-Homsi lost his ability to walk and speak, and his food consumption became restricted to liquids only.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency on the occasion of the International Day for People with Special Needs, his father Saadeddin Abu al-Homsi, said that his son's weight had dropped to only 35 kg.

The father voiced hope that a helping hand would be extended to his son for medical treatment.

He added that he was forced to flee from Homs after the Assad forces shelled his house, pointing out that his son suffered shrapnel wounds to his head and body, which led to his disability.

The father explained that his son's condition was getting worse day by day, due to the lack of financial resources, and the doctors' failure to properly diagnose his condition, appealing for support from philanthropists to treat his son.