International tensions grow as aerial strikes hit Aleppo hospital

A city hospital has been hit as Syrian government forces continue their offensive on the rebel-held city of Aleppo on Saturday with the support of Russian warplanes.

Rebels and aid-workers in Aleppo claim at least seven missiles fired from Russian jets and Syrian helicopters have hit M10 aka Sakhour, the city’s main trauma hospital, reported Reuters.

At least two have died in the attack and 13 have been injured, in the second attack to hit the hospital in the past week.

Mohammad Abu Rajab, a radiologist in the hospital told Reuters: “The hospital is now out of service completely. There's destruction to walls, infrastructure, equipment and generators. There are no more guards or staff left. It's complete darkness."

Video posted on social media shows the hospital has suffered extensive damage.

The rebels claim the Syrian army and its Russian allies have intentionally targeted hospitals, power plants and bakeries for months in attempts to force the nearly 250,000 people trapped in Aleppo to surrender.

Reuters reports that hundreds have been killed and hundreds more wounded in indiscriminate bombings in residential areas. The injured have little access to hospitals and medical supplies are short.

The attack drew immediate international condemnation.

Photo: Reuters

In a statement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayraut called the shelling of healthcare buildings and medical workers “war crimes” and said “the perpetrators will be held to account.”

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier tweeted: "The bombing of Aleppo needs to finally stop! Whoever wants to fight terrorists does not attack hospitals!"

An official from the Obama administration told Reuters:"Reports of yet another hospital being destroyed further demonstrates the total disregard for the lives of medical professionals and their patients who need critical care because of the Assad regime and Russia's relentless campaign against the Syrian people."

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), representing Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, has demanded on Saturday that the UN intervene to stop aerial attacks on Aleppo.

In a statement to Saudi state news agency SPA, the GCC condemned the offensive as a “flagrant aggression contrary to international law” and “demand[ed] that the UN Security Council intervene immediately to stop the aggression on the city of Aleppo and end the suffering of the Syrian people.”

The latest Aleppo offensive started in the wake of the collapse of a Sept 9 ceasefire negotiated by the US and Russia.

Attempts to negotiate another ceasefire have gotten off to a rocky start.

The US had threatened to halt attempts at diplomacy if Russia did not take immediate steps to put an end to the violence.

The US made clear that it would not walk away from the negotiating table, at least for now.

Photo: Reuters

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned the US not to carry out attacks on Syrian government forces, saying it would have repercussions in the country and throughout the Middle East.

Sputnik News quoted her as saying: "A direct US aggression against the Damascus authorities and the Syrian army will lead to 'tectonic shifts' and 'power vacuum' in the entire Middle East region."

The situation has led to mounting frustrations against Washington’s handling of the situation.

Allies of the rebels, such as Turkey and the Gulf states, may abandon the US' lead or turn blind eyes to wealthy individuals directly supplying arms to rebel groups.

The Aleppo offensive has led to the death of 400 in its first eight days. It is the latest development in a civil war that began in 2011.

Russia joined the war in support of President Bashar Al-Assad’s government last year.