Fifty people, including
children were killed in raids on two schools and five hospitals in separate
locations in northern Syria. The death toll is reportedly a result of missile
attacks.
Among the sites hit were
the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital, two medical facilities in Maarat
al-Numan and a hospital in Maarat al-Numan, among others.
UN Secretary General Ban
Ki Moon called the attacks "blatant violations of international laws"
that "are further degrading an already devastated healthcare system and
preventing access to education in Syria". He further said that the
attacks "cast a shadow on commitments" made by nations seeking to end
the Syrian conflict at a conference held in Germany last week on 11th February.
France and Turkey
branded the incident as a "war crime". Although there has not been
any independent confirmation, activists have accused Russia of carrying out the
strikes. Russia has been backing the Syrian government in its offensive against
rebels but says it only targets what it calls "terrorists".
The President of Medecins
Sans Frontieres France, Mego Terzian, said "either the (Syrian) government
or Russia" was "clearly" responsible. But the Syrian ambassador
to Moscow Riad Haddad, said the US was to blame, while the Pentagon dismissed the
claim as "patently false".
The strikes follow a
pattern of systematic attacks on healthcare facilities in Syria. Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad said any ceasefire did not mean "each party will
stop using weapons".
The ongoing five-year-long
civil war in Syria has killed more than 250,000 people and has displaced more
than 11 million people.
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