Russian Military Escalation Causes Casualties and Puts Hospital Out of Service in Northern Hama

Alexander Falconer | 2 May, 2018
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Russian air forces escalated their military action on Wednesday with a campaign of strikes in northern Hama, leading to civilian casualties and Kafr Zita hospital being put out of service. 

The Health Directorate in Hama said that Russian military aircraft launched four airstrikes against a specialist hospital in Kafr Zita, which is located in the north of the governorate. These achieved a direct hit on the hospital, killing a medical employee and injuring several other medical staff. The hospital was completely destroyed and so put out of service. 

The Directorate said that humanitarian and medical organizations had to do more to protect medical staff and facilities from being deliberately targeted by the Syrian government and its allies.

Meanwhile, the town of al-Latamina was hit by intense artillery shelling on Wednesday, resulting in two displaced civilians from Shalyut village being killed and others injured. Several other civilians were also killed by heavy artillery targeting al-Zakat village in northern Hama Governorate. 

Artillery and rocket attacks also targeted the towns of al-Arbaeen, al-Sakhr, al-Jisaat, al-Janabra, and Hasraya, without news of civilian casualties.

Hama Governorate has been subject to intense and systematic airstrikes on a daily basis recently by Syrian and Russian jets, in addition to artillery fire from Syrian government forces in the region. These attacks have aimed to push the residents of the region to submit to government forces who are carrying out a campaign of displacement. 

Translated By: Alexander Falconer