Hospitals Targeted By the Syrian Air Force in Aleppo

Continuing a long-held practice of depopulating cities by restricting access to public services and destroying residential areas, the Syrian government has yet again committed multiple human rights violations just in the past day.

According to activists, the Syrian Air Force conducted airstrikes in Aleppo city, destroying five hospital clinics that provide much-needed care for the besieged inhabitants. The violence in and around Aleppo has continued to increase in the past few weeks mainly due to the recent government siege taking place. Throughout the course of this time, many hospitals and ambulance trucks have been deliberately targeted due to the value that they bring to the population centers in rebel-held Aleppo.

An activist based in Aleppo confirmed the strikes on the hospitals and also mentioned that one of the few blood banks in the entire city was destroyed as well. In these strikes five people were also killed, adding to the already inflated and staggering death toll that has risen perpetually for the last five years.

A non-governmental organization called Physicians for Human Rights has been documenting the tragedies occurring in Syria when it pertains to health care and medical personnel. They have noted that over 750 medical personnel, whether it be doctors, nurses, or first responders, have been killed. They accredit a majority of these deaths to be caused by the Syrian military and by the Russian Air Force that has been operating in the country for almost a year now. Detailing the number of attacks, Physicians for Human Rights has also claimed that there have been over 373 separate instances where medical facilities in the country have either been attacked or completely destroyed. To consider these attacks to be accidental or unintended would be shortsighted, to say the least. The high frequency of attacks on medical facilities is too great to consider to be coincidences.

As mentioned earlier, the implications for these deliberate attacks are dire. Not only these attacks end up limiting the quality and amount of healthcare that can be employed in the city, but it will also inevitably lead to the rise in fatalities as most injuries in the city are major injuries caused by bombings and other traumatic events. In addition, with the lack of medical facilities operating on a daily basis, the spread of diseases and germs will consequently be on the rise which could pose even greater health issues in the future.

These attacks come in the wake of recent talks between the United States and Russia to potentially cooperate and facilitate military operations in the country against groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS. These talks are aimed at not only minimizing the threats posed by the extremist groups in Syria to the outside world but also to try to bring about a cessation of hostilities that is very much needed. However, besides the feasibility of such cooperation, the talks appear to have stalled or at least haven’t progressed in the past few days.

As the siege of Aleppo intensifies, expect to see in uptick in violence targeted at the remaining medical facilities and other vital public service locations. This brutal tactic of the Syrian government has been implemented since the beginning of the conflict so don’t expect the Syrian government to retract on their position in considering medical personnel and facilities to be legitimate targets. As a matter of fact, the situation will only become much worse. Unfortunately, it will only get worse at the expense of the innocent caught in the crossfire.

Featured Image via Youtube/Doctors Without Borders / MSF-USA