Children die as suspected Russian airstrike destroys MSF hospital in Syria

A child was among as many as seven people killed when a hospital in northern Syria was hit in a suspected Russian airstrike, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said a clinic supported by the aid group was destroyed in the attack in Maaret al Numan, about 170 miles north of the capital Damascus. Eight people were missing and dozens were also wounded in the raid, which MSF said “deliberately” targeted the medical facility. The head of MSF’s Syria mission Massimiliano Rebaudengo said the attack on the 30-bed facility, which had 54 staff, two operating theatres, an outpatients’ department and an emergency room, left 40,000 people in the region without access to medical services.

This appears to be a deliberate attack on a health structure, and we condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms.

Massimiliano Rebaudengo, the head of MSF’s Syria mission

In October, an MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan was hit by US forces by mistake leaving 42 people dead. The latest deadly attack comes after Russia said a limited ceasefire due to come into effect at the end of this week did not apply to its airstrikes, which have paved the way for major gains on the ground by the Syrian army. Meanwhile, in a separate strike, at least 14 people were killed when several missiles hit a children’s hospital and school sheltering refugees in the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border. Turkey has already blamed Russia for this attack.

MSF hospital Syria