Attacks on healthcare facilities in Syria have continued at an unprecedented rate in 2018, the United Nations said, adding that these attacks have resulted in 89 deaths and 135 injuries. The announcement came as the Assad regime continued to launch airstrikes on Idlib and Hama provinces.
Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary‑General, told news conference on Wednesday that “a reported attack on the central hospital in Idlib Governorate this past weekend is the ninety‑second attack on health‑care facilities recorded this year.”
“Across Syria, the 92 reported attacks on healthcare facilities in 2018 have resulted in 89 deaths and 135 injuries. In 2017 there were a total of 112 reported attacks, resulting in 73 deaths and 149 injuries,” Haq added.
Attacks on medical facilities in Syria coincided with large-scale mass forced displacements by the Assad regime against residents of the areas where these vital facilities were located.
The Syrian Coalition said that the targeting of healthcare facilities in Syria is one of the tactics Assad is employing to force the civilian population out of their homes. It underscored these attacks constituted war crimes as it called for the referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)