April 28, 2017…A maternity hospital supported by Save the Children in Idlib province in Syria was damaged after at least two airstrikes landed near the facility late last night.
A similar attack in July left two dead and several, including babies, injured. This incident is the twelfth of a series of attacks against health facilities in April alone.
Initial reports from the charity’s local partner suggest two airstrikes landed close to the hospital at about 2 am local time, damaging the building.
Patients and staff were evacuated to a basement. There are currently no reports of casualties.
Medics said windows were blown in and a hospital laboratory badly damaged. An incubator unit for premature babies escaped the blast after it was moved underground following the July attack.
The hospital serves 2,100 women and children and performs about 550 deliveries each month. The hospital has eight incubators for premature babies, and an outpatient clinic supporting pregnant women and providing post-natal care. The closest hospital providing similar services is 43 miles away.
Save the Children’s Syria Director, Sonia Khush said, “Staff were able to evacuate workers and patients to the basement and no casualties were reported in this incident. But there can never be any excuse for bombing women and children in a place of sanctuary. This is not an isolated attack. There have now been 12 health facilities hit in Syria this month alone, some resulting in tragedy. Aid workers on the ground are reporting nine attacks on hospitals and clinics in just the last 72 hours. While the world turns the other way, the conflict is once again spiraling dangerously out of control.”
ENDS
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