PHOTO: The destroyed al-Baian Hospital in east Aleppo city on Wednesday
Russian and regime warplanes have bombed near yet more hospitals in northwest Syria, this time in an opposition-held area of Aleppo city.
The airstrikes and at least eight barrel bombs targeted the al-Sha’ar district. Missiles hit two buildings away from the al-Baian hospital, damaging it with the force of the blast, said Abo al-Ezz, the local coordinator for the Syrian-American Medical Society.
The al-Hakeem hospital and the Abdulhadi Fares clinic were also damaged in the strikes.
The Local Coordination Committee said at least eight people were killed and several wounded.
Ezz said:
[Al-Shaar] has been hit several times and the goal seems to be to kill as many people as possible in a crowded area.
It’s an area crowded with civilians and patients who come to these hospitals, so perhaps the target was either civilians or the hospitals.
One wave of attacks occurred after civil defence volunteers and emergency personnel arrived on the scene in response to the initial strikes.
“It was a mess, it was so dusty, I saw fire, body parts,” said Yehya al-Rijo, an activist who rushed to al-Bayan hospital. “I didn’t know what to do — should I take my camera and shoot or should I rescue the wounded? I took the second choice.”
(Photo: AFP)
Russia and regime warplanes have bombed at least 40 medical facilities since Moscow’s aerial intervention last October. In late April, missiles damaged the al-Quds Hospital in east Aleppo city, killing 55 people and wounding more than 80. Last week, attacks near Idlib’s National Hospital, leaving scores dead and injuring about 250.
See Syria 1st-Hand: Doctor on Russia’s Airstrikes Near Idlib’s National Hospital
Syria Video: Russia-Regime Attack on Aleppo’s Al-Quds Hospital — New Footage and Testimony
Deaths from bombing are also reported in the Salhin district, as well as Kafr Hamra, Hayan, and Hreitan to the north of the city.
A BBC report summarizing the recent Russia-regime attacks on Aleppo (Warning — Graphic Images):
