US condemns Assad, Russia attacks in Syria that killed civilians

The United States condemns fresh attacks by the Assad regime and Russians in Syria that have left a number of civilians dead, including in a hospital in Aleppo.

The State Department blames regime artillery shelling yesterday for the death of five patients, including a child, at the Al-Atareb Surgical Hospital in western Aleppo.

The attack left more than a dozen medical staff wounded, it says.

The same day, Russian jets struck in Idlib near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, reportedly killing a civilian, the State Department says.

It says that neither should be targets of attacks, noting that the regime has access to the precise coordinates of the hospital to avoid hitting it, under the United Nation’s deconfliction program.

The Russian attack, the department says, threatens humanitarian aid.

“Bab al-Hawa remains the only UN-authorized humanitarian border crossing in Syria and remains the most efficient and effective way to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to approximately 2.4 million Syrians every month,” it says.

“Civilians, including civilian medical personnel and facilities, must never be the target of military action,” it adds. “This violence must stop — we reiterate our call for a nationwide ceasefire.”