Syria: Hospitals in rebel areas hit by deadly 'Russian air strikes' (video)

[uhnope]

Source: IB TIMES UK

Deadly air strikes have targeted two hospitals in rebel-held areas of Syria's north west, where regime forces backed by Russian warplanes have launched a major offensive in recent weeks. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said a medical structure it supports in Idlib province was flattened by four rockets that hit within a few minutes of each other.

Rescuers could be seen searching through the rubble for the at least eight staff members that the humanitarian organisation said are missing, in online footage purportedly from the scene.

Separately, missile fire targeted a hospital and a school in the town of Azaz, north of Aleppo near the Turkish border, killing at least 14 people, residents told Reuters. The building housed some of the tens of thousands of refugees displaced by the advance of forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad in the area. Russian warplanes and government forces have been pounding rebel position in both Azaz and Idlib and areas in recent weeks.

MSF said its hospital, located in Maarat al-Numan, a strategic city that lies on a main road connecting Homs and Aleppo, was deliberately hit. The facility 30-bed hospital had 54 staff.
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Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/syria-nine-dead-msf-hospital-idlib-destroyed-russian-air-strike-1543875

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mods: this article has new info on the origin of the strikes

from the article:

[lark]

1. No wonder Trump loves Putin.

They are both bloodthirsty autocrats who care about being seen as "strong" more than they care about their countries or people or anything else.

[Igel]

2. If Russian, they were obviously love strikes.

[Erelis]

3. Doctors Without Borders has not blamed the Russians--they say they don't know.

The Russian/Syrian offensive looks to be close to cutting ISIS in half and completely sealing off the Turkish border and then supplies to the terrorist armies. Turkey has amassed 16,000 troops on the border along with the Saudis for what is looking like a possible invasion. I imagine the Turk/Saudi will use these incidents as justification to save the towns controlled by Al Queda from attack by Assad and Russkis.

[LanternWaste]

4. No one has stated DWB claimed Moscow did this.

No one has stated DWB claimed Moscow did this, other organizations and government though, have made that claim (e.g., Paris and Stockholm) that the bombing was done by the Russian Air Force in a location specifically where regime forces backed by Russian warplanes have launched a major offensive in recent weeks.

[Erelis]

5. The inference almost direct claim of the article is that the Russians did it.

Russians might have done it, but as of right now, the only sources making the original claims look to be anti-Assad groups and jihadist press releases. The group that was attacked is making no claims.

[uhnope]

6. MSF...said there has been "unrelenting aerial bombardment by Russian warplanes and Bashar al-A

MSF...said there has been "unrelenting aerial bombardment by Russian warplanes and Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Idlib," according to the Guardian.

[Erelis]

7. A precise picture of an imprecise reality?

Could be. But the message in the press and pretty much in unison by all Western governments is that the Russians are indiscriminately bombing civilians only (does this mean that Al Queda and ISIS have left the area?). Except that the article is claiming that in midst of all of this deadly random bombing, hospitals are being deliberately targeted. In the midst of all that fighting how can anybody tell if a bombing was deliberate? Seems rather strange for the Russians to deliberately attack hospitals knowing the international reaction.

There is fierce and ugly war going on with Al Queda and ISIS in that critical area. In the fog of war, I doubt if anybody can tell for certain what is going on. That this or that bomb is deliberate. It could be the case that hospitals have been bombed but how can anybody tell if a building is being used as a hospital if they are not on the ground to know that.

[uhnope]

8. your know-nothing response is pretty insulting to all the dead civilians, you know

In the fog of war, I doubt if anybody can tell for certain what is going on. That this or that bomb is deliberate. It could be the case that hospitals have been bombed but how can anybody tell if a building is being used as a hospital if they are not on the ground to know that.

Read up on the situation before you let stuff like this drop. Russia has been bombing places where there's no ISIS or Al Queda at all. In this case, the whole area is being bombed from the air by only Russia/Assad. I mean wtf is the point of yr wishy-washy defense of Russia in this case. "It could be the case that hospitals have been bombed" ??? are you some kind of hospital bombing truther?

[Erelis]

9. Your defense of terrorists for the sake of partisanship

The Russians and Syrians are NOW fighting in areas controlled and ruled by ISIS--where in heck did you get the idea that the Russians and Syrians were in the middle of nowhere randomly bombing civilians. Was it from your daily State Dept. brief? Syrian forces have now entered the province where Raqqa is located--you know, the self proclaimed capital city of ISIS in Syria.

Your propaganda masters are not even pushing that bullshit anymore as the thick of the fight is now in ISIS controlled areas in the North. What has been rather strange is how imperial propaganda has gotten Americans to defend and give intellectual cover to genocidal terrorists for the sake of bashing the Russians in some neocon-cluster world domination game. The defacto position of people like you is to ignore and give cover to terrorists just to make sure the Russians don't win.

[uhnope]

12. ...

Last edited Tue Feb 16, 2016, 03:47 AM - Edit history (1)

This:

The defacto position of people like you is to ignore and give cover to terrorists just to make sure the Russians don't win.

is of course you reflecting yourself, which would be:

The defacto position of people like Erelis is to ignore and give cover to Putin & Assad war crimes just to make sure the Russians win.

I suppose that if Russia bombs ISIS even once, that proves they never carpet bombed regions with no ISIS...

Here are some things for you to dismiss as "imperial propaganda" (the term is right out of TASS)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/russia-airstrikes-syria-not-targetting-isis

http://www.interpretermag.com/putin-in-syria-even-isis-says-russia-is-not-bombing-isis/

http://observers.france24.com/en/20151127-eyewitness-aleppo-russia-airstrikes-islamic-state
Eyewitness: ‘No IS group in Aleppo, so who is Russia bombing?’

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/09/30/3707657/these-maps-prove-russian-airstrikes-arent-actually-targeting-isis/

[PersonNumber503602]

10. War sucks.

While this is unfortunate, I doubt Russia is going around bombing hospitals and schools in attempts to terrorize the civilian population. Very similar to how the US/NATO usually do not bomb schools and hospitals just 'cause they want to (although I know some like to say otherwise... usually while praising Russian bombings as being the best thing since sliced cake...err bread.) I'm going to say there's probably a good chance that those buildings were being used by militants, and the civilians inside were being used as human shields.

That being said, I'd rather those place not be bombed, but I that's rather idealistic and not based on the realities of war.

[Erelis]

11. You got the context

Right now the Syrian coalition is fighting ISIS in northern Syria. But all the news reports don't mention that (appears the Russkis and Assad are winning). ISIS is totally invisible in Western reports. When you simply say "oh, the Syrians, Russkis are going at it with ISIS", then the angles of perception change. How has ISIS behaved in the past--yes, like you I remembered they openly bragged about using human shields. Were they capable of doing the same thing again? Did they stop civilians from fleeing the war zone? But that does not further the narrative.