The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that between the period from September 30, 2015 to February 15, 2016 Russian airstrikes have hit 27 medical facilities. At least 58 civilians, including 11 medical staff, were killed in these attacks.
In a report released earlier today, the watchdog group said that the majority of targeted medical facilities were in Aleppo with 10 hospitals hit across the rebel-held areas in the province.
According to the report, the victims included 3 children, 8 women and 11 staff members. It said that most of the attacks were deliberate and targeted staff members and unarmed civilians.
The report said these attacks blatantly violate UN Security Council resolution 2139 and contravene international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes. It added that through these attacks, Russia wants to send a message that there is no safe place for medical facilities.
SNHR went on to say that it was unacceptable that Russia is a major party in the political process, and at the same time it continues to commit the most heinous crimes in Syria. It called for stopping these barbaric attacks on hospitals and innocent civilians. SNHR also called upon the United States and Europe to stop considering Russia a key partner in the efforts aimed at finding a political solution in Syria.
The report also said that Russia’s actions in Syria have recently led to the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians in northern rural Aleppo, forcing them to seek refuge on the Syrian-Turkish border in miserable conditions.
The UN on Monday said airstrikes on at least five medical facilities and two schools in Aleppo and Idlib provinces killed nearly 50 civilians including children. Deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said Ban Ki-moon considered such attacks as “blatant violations of international law.” (Source: Agencies)
