Russian forces have targeted a medical center in rural Idlib province as the province has become home to about two million people, half of whom were forcibly displaced by the Assad regime and its allies.
Al-Ameen aid group said that a medical center it supports in the town of Ariha was put out of service after it was hit with a Russian airstrike on Sunday.
The aid group pointed out that Russian airstrikes also targeted relief warehouses and an ambulance station in rural Idlib. The bombings injured two medical personnel and caused massive damage to the station. Five ambulances were also damaged by the airstrikes.
“The Assad regime and its Russian ally have not only displaced civilians from eastern Ghouta, but chased them with weapons, destruction and death by targeting residential areas, medical centers, and relief warehouses with the aim of increasing the suffering of innocent people,” the aid group said on its Facebook page.
In an urgent letter to the Syrian people’s friendly countries on Saturday, the Syrian Coalition warned that “Idlib governorate hosts more than two million civilians. If any barbaric attack similar to the one that took place in Eastern Ghouta during the last two months occurs, there will be a genuine disastrous situation.”
The Coalition renewed calls on the international community to take serious measures to put an end to the Assad regime and Russia’s endless crimes against Syrian civilians and the waves of mass forced displacements aimed at changing the demographic landscape in Syria.
Amnesty International previously confirmed that the Assad regime and Russia’s targeting of hospitals was part of their military strategy against civilians in liberated areas.
The watchdog group said these attacks represented blatant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law. It added that it was truly outrageous that the wiping out of hospitals was part of what appears to be a military strategy being adopted by these forces.
Rights groups have documented hundreds of attacks on hospitals and health facilities in Syria. They noted these attacks take place every time the Assad regime tries to impose conditions of surrender on civilians, using siege and the targeting of vital civilian centers, including health facilities.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week reiterated calls for the referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court in light of the escalating violence against civilians. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
