At least seven people are dead and eight others remain unaccounted for after a series of airstrikes destroyed a hospital supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in northern Syria, the aid organization said Monday.
The hospital, which is located in the town of Maarat al-Noaman in the Idlib province, was destroyed after being hit by four missiles in two sets of attacks within a few minutes, the charity said, citing reports by hospital staff members, according to The New York Times.
Officials from Doctors Without Borders said that about 15 other buildings had been struck in residential areas nearby.
Giving a tally of those killed, the aid group said that the seven fatalities included five patients, a caretaker and a guard. It said eight more staff members are missing in the rubble and other patients are also missing, but their total number remains unknown, according to NBC News.
The statement gives no indicator as to who could be responsible for the airstrikes, but the incident did occur in an area that sees regular Russian and Syrian military operations. Neither country has commented on the incident.
Regardless of who is responsible, considering the manner in which the hospital was hit, the MSF has concluded that the airstrikes were deliberate and has condemned them.
"This appears to be a deliberate attack on a health structure, and we condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms," said Massimiliano Rebaudengo, the Doctors Without Borders head of mission, according to Reuters. "The destruction of this hospital deprives about 40,000 people of healthcare in this conflict zone."
On the other hand, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as well as rights organization Amnesty International blamed Russian warplanes for Monday's assault, which the latter referred to as "the latest of scores of apparently deliberate attacks on hospitals, clinics and medical personnel being committed in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law."
"Russian and Syrian forces know full well that deliberate attacks on medical facilities are war crimes," the group said in a statement. "All parties to the conflict must cease such horrific attacks, stop destroying medical facilities and allow medical workers to carry out their life-saving work without fear of being killed or injured in the line of duty."
The hospital, which had 54 staff, 30 beds, two operating rooms, clinics and an emergency room, is financed by MSF. The aid group also supplies medicines and equipment to the facility.
