Air strikes on Syrian hospital kills three doctors, 27 patients

Air strikes on a hospital in Aleppo on Thursday killed three doctors and some 27 patients, in addition to dozens of civilians killed in strikes on insurgent-held residential quarters of the city.

Among the victims at Al-Quds hospital, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières, was one of the last paediatricians remaining in the rebel-held part of the city. At least 18 died in insurgent shelling of government-controlled districts.

UN mediator Steffan de Mistura warned the ceasefire “hangs by a thread” and said an average of one Syrian is being killed every 25 minutes and one wounded every 13 minutes.

The escalation is creating a fresh humanitarian disaster, said the International Committee of the Red Cross. Its representative in Aleppo, Valter Gros, said "wherever you are, you hear explosions of mortars, shelling and planes flying over. There is no neighbourhood of the city that hasn't been hit. People are living on the edge. Everyone fears for their lives and nobody knows what is coming next."

The Britain-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Syrian government-aligned air strikes had killed 91 civilians in insurgent-controlled quarters over the past six days, while insurgent shelling had taken 49 lives. Violence has also flared in northwestern Idlib and Homs provinces.

Jan Egeland, chairman of the UN's humanitarian task force, called the situation in Aleppo and in Homs province, where hostilities have also erupted, "catastrophic", warning the ceasefire, declared on February 27th, is close to collapse.

He said the deterioration has been reported to the International Syria Support Group where, "No one doubted the severity of the situation".

The US state department said the air strike on Al-Quds hospital was "reprehensible", and it called on Russia to use its influence to pressure Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to stop the attacks. State department spokesman John Kirby said Washington was still learning more about the attack on the hospital but that there appeared to be several dozen casualties.

“Once again we call on the regime to cease these absolutely senseless attacks, which are of course violations of the cessation of hostilities,” Mr Kirby said.

Russia denied its planes were responsible for air strikes that destroyed the hospital, saying it had carried out no air strikes there in recent days.

Relative calm

Aleppo, once Syria’s most populous city and commercial hub, had enjoyed six weeks of relative calm after the declaration of the cessation of hostilities. Visitors to the government-held western sectors told

The Irish Times

life was normal, schools were functioning, civil servants were going to their jobs, restaurants and cafes were packed.

The situation was not, however, comfortable for residents of insurgent-controlled districts, which had come under pressure after government forces cut routes to Turkey supplying fighters and arms as well as consumer goods for civilians.

On April 18th, the fundamentalist Ahrar al-Sham and Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam launched an offensive against government forces. Although the latter's politburo chief, Mohamed Alloush, heads the Saudi-sponsored High Negotiation Committee's team in the talks, Russia has called for blacklisting Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham, the most powerful armed opposition factions.

Further complicating the situation, western-backed rebel forces clashed with Islamic State, not a party to the ceasefire, and attacked the Sheikh Maqsoud district where the Kurdish protection units hold sway, while al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra, also excluded from the truce, shelled government-controlled neighbourhoods.

Syrian government

Mr de Mistura, who reported to the UN

Security Council

late on Wednesday night, has called upon the International Support Group to revitalise the ceasefire, enabling him to set a date for the resumption of Syrian talks in Geneva. Next week he is due visit Moscow, which is allied with the Syrian government. He seeks to begin a fresh round “during the course of May”, to build on momentum achieved in the third round.

The High Negotiations Committee, which pulled out of talks last week, insists President Bashar al-Assad must step down while the government has argued his future is non-negotiable. However, Mr de Mistura revealed the "word transition" is no longer "taboo" – a previous government position.

He said all parties involved now recognise the need for a “credible and inclusive transitional government” to draft a new constitution and prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections. He also said there is agreement the transitional government “should include members of the present government, opposition, independents and others”.