Airstrikes hit hospitals in two Syrian towns

The prospect of even a temporary truce in Syria seemed as distant as ever on Monday, as violence continued unabated across much of the country with hospitals in two towns apparently being bombed by forces supporting Bashar al-Assad, days after Russia denied it was targeting civilians in its aerial campaign.

The attacks highlighted the fragility of a deal agreed last week in Munich for a “cessation of hostilities” and the impact on civilians of an unforgiving air war led by the Kremlin that has helped consolidate Assad’s position and exacerbated the misery of the five-year conflict, driving tens of thousands out of their homes towards the Turkish border. Syrian President Assad made a televised address on Monday saying that any ceasefire did not mean each side had to stop using weapons.

The purpose of any agreement was to stop “terrorists from strengthening their positions” by gaining ground, he claimed. “Regarding a ceasefire, a halt to operations, if it happened, it doesn’t mean that each party will stop using weapons,” Assad said in Damascus.

“A ceasefire means in the first place halting the terrorists from strengthening their positions. Movement of weapons, equipment or terrorists, or fortification of positions, will not be allowed,” he said. 

The hospital airstrikes came a day after Barack Obama urged Moscow to halt its bombing campaign, illustrating the lack of leverage western powers have over peace negotiations aimed at ending a war that has killed nearly a third of a million people.

US state department spokesman John Kirby said the continuation of the aerial campaign “flies in the face of the unanimous calls by the ISSG (International Syria Support Group), including in Munich, to avoid attacks on civilians and casts doubt on Russia’s willingness and/or ability to help bring to a stop the continued brutality of the Assad regime against its own people.”

The violence risks drawing Turkey, a stalwart backer of the rebels, further into the conflict as it looks on with growing alarm at Kurdish expansion near its border, as Kurdish fighters take advantage of rebels’ weakening and vacating territory under the Russian onslaught.

The airstrikes on hospitals in two locations in northern Syria mark the latest in a series of attacks on medical facilities and workers, including 14 so far this year.