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Russia, Syrian Gov’t Deny Hospital Attack

Russia, Syrian Gov’t Deny Hospital Attack
Russia, Syrian Gov’t Deny Hospital Attack

The death toll from the most recent airstrikes in the Syrian city of Aleppo has risen to 30.

Damascus and Moscow have both denied accusations from the opposition that they carried out the strike on the al-Qudos hospital.

“We have 30 bodies: 22 identified and eight others whose names are not known yet,” Abdel Rahman, a member of the non-governmental White Helmet Civil Defense organization, told the DPA news agency on Thursday.

The volunteer said the death toll was expected to rise as more bodies were being pulled from the rubble of the hospital in the Al-Sukari neighborhood of Aleppo city. The dead included three children and a pediatrician, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The head of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Syria called the attack on the hospital “unacceptable” and added that “sadly this is not the first time the lifesaving medical services have been hit”.

The ICRC reported that stocks of contingency food and medical aid would likely run out soon and warned that an escalation in fighting would prevent groups from replenishing them.

More than half of the 200 civilians killed over the past week were in Aleppo.

“So many humanitarian health workers and relief workers are being bombed, killed, maimed at the moment,” Egeland, the UN envoy, told reporters on Thursday.

The Syrian opposition accused the government and Russia of conducting the airstrikes on the hospital.

However, the Syrian government denied that his army airplanes carried out the attack.

Russia, too, said its aircraft were not involved in the strike.

“According to our information, on the evening of April 27, for the first time after a long break, there was a plane over Aleppo that belonged to one of the so-called anti-Islamic State coalition,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

  Peace Talks Enter 3rd Round

On Wednesday, UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria Staffan De Mistura said a third round of peace talks had made progress despite recent hurdles. Negotiations started again two weeks ago, the same day the Syrian government held elections for the parliament.

At the time, de Mistura had said he hoped that the talks would allow opposition leaders and representatives of the government to chart a political transition in the country.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the airstrikes, his spokesman calling for accountability for the attacks.

“Attacks that target civilians are inexcusable violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,” Stephane Dujarric said.

“The secretary-general calls on the warring sides in Syria to immediately renew their commitment to the cessation of hostilities.”

Ban also urged Russia and the US to exert pressure on the fighting parties and ensure that credible investigations are conducted into attacks targeting civilians.

Financialtribune.com