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Airstrikes in Aleppo Hit Hospital and Prompt Syrian Rebel Attack Airstrikes in Aleppo Hit Hospital and Prompt Syrian Rebel Attack
(35 minutes later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The boom of airstrikes and missile attacks echoed across Aleppo, Syria, through the night on Wednesday and into Thursday, as the government and its allies continued their attacks on the rebel-controlled half of the city. BEIRUT, Lebanon — A government airstrike on a hospital in the insurgent-held section of the Syrian city of Aleppo killed at least 27 people, including three children and six staff members, health workers and witnesses said Thursday.
The rebel reply came Thursday morning with a barrage of mortar rounds and missile attacks that struck at least three districts along the front line, leaving at least eight people dead and 46 wounded by midday. On the other side of the divided city, in the government-held section, insurgent mortar attacks killed at least eight people, most of them civilians, said officials at a hospital where casualties were streaming in at midday.
Over the past week, airstrikes by the Syrian government and its Russian allies have sharply increased, as has rebel shelling of government areas, seemingly dealing the final blows to a long-crumbling cease-fire. On Thursday, with civilian casualties rapidly mounting on both sides, one of those airstrikes destroyed a hospital affiliated with Doctors Without Borders, killing 27 people. Over the past week, the Syrian government and its Russian allies have sharply stepped up airstrikes on rebel-held areas in Aleppo, and rebels have increased shelling of government-held areas.
The location of the destroyed hospital in rebel territory was well known, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement in which it called for an end to the targeting of health facilities. Among the dead were three children and six staff members, health workers and witnesses said, including one of the area’s last remaining pediatricians. The death toll was expected to rise. Well over 100 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in all — according to tallies by local news media and activists on both sides — a sharp increase over the lower tolls that gave the city a respite during a two-month partial truce.
Already this year, in the eastern town of Maarat al-Noaman, two hospitals, including one that worked with Doctors Without Borders, were hit by multiple strikes on the same day. Groups like Physicians for Human Rights have tracked what they call a pattern of deliberate targeting of health services by government forces. The destroyed Quds hospital in rebel territory was a well known location assisted by the international charity Doctors Without Borders, the group said in a statement calling for an end to the targeting of health facilities. The death toll from the strike late Wednesday was expected to rise.
Witnesses contended that the same appeared to be true of the Wednesday night strike on Al Quds Hospital in Sukkari, a neighborhood of Aleppo. Earlier this year in the town of Maarat al-Noaman to the east, two hospitals, including one working with Doctors Without Borders, were hit on the same day, each by multiple strikes. Groups such as Physicians for Human Rights have tracked what they call a pattern of deliberate targeting of health services by government forces.
“Those were multiple airstrikes targeting the same area with less than two-minute gaps,” Adnan Hadad, an opposition journalist, said shortly after returning from the scene. Witnesses contended that the same appeared to be true of the Wednesday night strike on on Al Quds hospital in the Aleppo neighborhood of Sukkari.
In the government-controlled sector of the city, casualties streamed into Al Razi Hospital as the wail of ambulance sirens mixed with the thud of explosions in the streets. Most of the wounded were civilians, but some were soldiers. At least three children were killed. “Those were multiple airstrikes targeting the same area with less than two-minute gaps,” Adnan Hadad, an opposition journalist, said shortly after returning from the scene
A wounded soldier writhed on the ground, kicking and yelling as a commander comforted him. A man walked down a corridor, carrying his limping son. “We will kill them today,” he shouted to a reporter. The International Committee of the Red Cross called the hospital attack unacceptable and called on all parties to stop indiscriminate attacks and avoid harming civilians or Aleppo would face what it called a new humanitarian disaster.
Hassan Anees, the hospital’s executive director, said the violence had been rising steadily through the week. Most days, the hospital treats about 20 casualties, but on Wednesday the number reached 39, including five people who died. On Thursday, it had treated 54 by midday, of whom eight died. “Wherever you are, you hear explosions of mortars, shelling and planes flying over,” said Valter Gros, who heads the Aleppo office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Everyone here fears for their lives and nobody knows what is coming next.”
Mr. Anees said the insurgents appeared to have started using more powerful munitions since the cease-fire in the city crumbled over a week ago. “First it was mortars, then it was gas canister bombs, and now it is missiles,” he said. On the government-held side of the city there were numerous mortar strikes over the past day, mostly hitting civilian areas.
As he spoke, the rattle of gunfire drifted through his office window, a reminder that the nearest front line to the hospital was only about half a mile away. Casualties streamed into Al Razi hospital as the wail of ambulance sirens mixed with the thud of explosions in the city streets. Most of the wounded were civilians, including at least three children who were killed, but some were military.
Aleppo is controlled mostly by insurgent groups that have no affiliation with the two extremist groups excluded from the rapidly crumbling cease-fire: the Nusra Front, an organization with links to Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State, which Russia nominally intervened in Syria to fight. A wounded soldier writhed on the ground, kicking and yelling as a commander comforted him. A man walked down a corridor, carrying limping son. “We will kill them today,” he shouted to a reporter.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called the overnight hospital attack unacceptable. It also asked all parties to stop indiscriminate attacks and to avoid harming civilians, warning that Aleppo could face what it called a new humanitarian disaster. Hassan Anees, the hospital’s executive director, said violence had been rising steadily through the week. Most days the hospital treated at least 20 casualties but on Wednesday the toll reached 39, five of whom died, and by Thursday lunchtime had reached 54 with eight confirmed dead.
“Wherever you are, you hear explosions of mortars, shelling and planes flying over,” said Valter Gros, who leads the Aleppo office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Everyone here fears for their lives and nobody knows what is coming next.” Mr. Anees said the rebels appeared to have started using more powerful munitions since the ceasefire crumbled in the city over a week ago. “First it was mortars, then it was gas canister bombs, and now it is missiles,” he said.
Much of the Quds hospital building collapsed, and in videos and photographs from the scene, bodies could be seen pinned under rubble and what looked like the metal frames of beds. As he spoke the rattle of gunfire drifted through his office window, in a reminder that the nearest frontline to the hospital was less than one kilometer away.
A man rushed from the scene carrying the limp body of a small girl in pink clothing, her skin gray with the dust of pulverized concrete. Another girl in pink, her eyes glassy with tears, clung to the shoulder of a man in a red tank top who howled in grief: “Those are my family! I lost my family!” On the insurgent-held side, much of the Quds hospital building was collapsed, and in videos and photographs from the scene, motionless bodies could be seen pinned under rubble and what looked like the metal frames of beds.
The hospital was hit when it was already full of victims from government shelling, Hadi Abdullah, an opposition journalist, reported in a video from the scene. A man rushed from the scene carrying the limp body of a small girl in pink clothing, her skin gray with the dust of pulverized concrete. Another girl in pink clung, her eyes glassy with tears, to the shoulder of a man in a red tank top who howled in grief, “Those are my family! I Lost my family!”
One of the casualties was Mohammad Wassim Mo’az, known as Abu Abdulrahman, one of the only pediatricians in the area. A dentist, Ahmad Abulyaman, was also killed. The hospital was hit when it was already full of victims from government shelling, Hadi Abdullah, an opposition journalist, reported in a video from the scene, in which a medical worker said that three of his colleagues had been killed.
One of them was Mohammad Wassim Mo’az, known by his nickname Abu Abdulrahman, the only pediatrician in the area. A dentist, Ahmad Abulyaman, was also killed.
“I’m crying,” Louay Barakat, a journalist and photographer, said by phone after visiting the scene. “My baby’s doctor died. About 11 nurses and hospital staff died. Most of them are my friends.”“I’m crying,” Louay Barakat, a journalist and photographer, said by phone after visiting the scene. “My baby’s doctor died. About 11 nurses and hospital staff died. Most of them are my friends.”
The hospital was the main referral center for pediatrics, with eight doctors, 28 nurses, an emergency room, an intensive care unit and an operating room, all now destroyed. The hospital was the main referral center for pediatrics, with eight doctors, 28 nurses, an emergency room, intensive care unit and operating room, all now destroyed. Among the dead was one of the area’s last remaining pediatricians,
In another area, a small boy was captured on video crying over the body of his brother. Stroking his body, he said, “I wish it was me, not you.” In another area, a small boy was captured on video crying over the body of his brother, calling him “the love of my father.”
Stroking his body, he said, “I wish it was me, not you.”