Airstrikes on northwest Syria intensify targeting hospitals and rescue centres

In the past 48 hours Russian and Syrian forces have intensified their bombardment of northwest Syria hitting hospitals and rescue centres and bombing a school.

On 5 November, 25 airstrikes, 70 artillery shells and four rocket launchers hit 24 towns in northwest Syria. They killed three brothers from one family and injured their mother.

Today three hospitals were targeted, injuring three medical workers at the Al Ikhlas hospital for women and children. Three White Helmet centres, a school and a medical centre in the town of Jisr Al-Shoughour were also targeted by regime warplanes.

In the western countryside of Aleppo five civilians were killed and many others were injured after two airstrikes targeted civilian houses in Al-Sahharah village this afternoon.

 Dalal, a community leader from Jabal al-Zawiya said:

“At 1:30 am we woke up to a horrible sound of bombing, our windows almost fell on us. I ran to check on my daughters who were terrified. It’s been getting worse for the past four to five days. I can feel the shelling on Kafranbel (20-30 kms away) because our house will shake. That’s how strong those rockets are.

“People are scared and angry, we can’t keep living like this, not knowing what our fate will be. Are we going to die? Are we going to be displaced from our homes? Nobody knows what is going to happen to us. Agreements are being made by decision makers but they obviously don’t care about us civilians. I can’t describe how angry I am at the international community for turning a blind eye to our suffering. They see us getting slaughtered every day and they do nothing.”

Laila Kiki*, Executive Director of The Syria Campaign said: “The deliberate targeting of schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers is a war crime that is designed to strangle the only services saving the lives of more than 3 million civilians in the area, but the world seems to be treating it as business as usual. The killing must stop.”

*Laila Kiki is a pseudonym used for security reasons.