An air strike on a maternity hospital in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province killed two persons and injured many more. It was not clear whether the regime or US-led coalition aircraft were behind the abhorrent attack, but the assault violates all international regulations, war laws and is in defiance of ethical norms. Targeting civilians during wars is not approved and amounts to crimes against humanity. It is not the first time that a hospital has been bombed in the five-year civil war that has pitted the West against its arch enemy Russia in a battle of attrition joined by Iran on Moscow’s side. Numerous civilian targets have been bombed by regime forces supported by Russia in the war that has killed more than a quarter million people.
Bombing any civilian target is a despicable act and demands legal retribution. However, a war leads to chaos and the aggrieved don’t have recourse to proper justice even after guns have fallen silent.
Attacking a maternity hospital from the air not only puts innocent lives in danger, but also threatens newborns and those who are waiting to arrive in this world. Neonatal and maternity care is the most sensitive and intricate subject in healthcare. Even peaceful countries without signs of unrest sometimes struggle to cope with the demand for good neonatal and maternity care. When it comes to countries ravaged by war, such healthcare becomes a casualty.
Syria—embroiled in a war of the making of its President Bashar Al Assad — has become a leitmotif of the failure of diplomacy, the helplessness of the United Nations and the weakness of the global community to countenance an issue that is a threat to millions of civilians and a nation with a strong historical footprint. Not a day passes by without scores being killed in one bombing or another. Rebels keep pushing against regime forces, which supported by superior Russian military power, keeps pounding targets around Damascus, Homs, Hama, Deir Azzor, Aleppo and other major Syrian cities.
Amid countless ceasefires and meetings, Syria keeps burning. Attempts at peace have been hit by the intransigence of the warring sides. While rebels want Assad to step down and an end to attacks against them, the regime is adamant. Assad refuses to quit citing an elected mandate by the Syrian people and insists serious talks will only begin when ‘terrorism’ in the country comes to an end.
It seems there is no stopping to the daily carnage in Syria. Till the international community cannot force Assad to resign, more innocents will keep dying in hospitals and hospices.
An air strike on a maternity hospital in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province killed two persons and injured many more. It was not clear whether the regime or US-led coalition aircraft were behind the abhorrent attack, but the assault violates all international regulations, war laws and is in defiance of ethical norms. Targeting civilians during wars is not approved and amounts to crimes against humanity. It is not the first time that a hospital has been bombed in the five-year civil war that has pitted the West against its arch enemy Russia in a battle of attrition joined by Iran on Moscow’s side. Numerous civilian targets have been bombed by regime forces supported by Russia in the war that has killed more than a quarter million people.
Bombing any civilian target is a despicable act and demands legal retribution. However, a war leads to chaos and the aggrieved don’t have recourse to proper justice even after guns have fallen silent.
Attacking a maternity hospital from the air not only puts innocent lives in danger, but also threatens newborns and those who are waiting to arrive in this world. Neonatal and maternity care is the most sensitive and intricate subject in healthcare. Even peaceful countries without signs of unrest sometimes struggle to cope with the demand for good neonatal and maternity care. When it comes to countries ravaged by war, such healthcare becomes a casualty.
Syria—embroiled in a war of the making of its President Bashar Al Assad — has become a leitmotif of the failure of diplomacy, the helplessness of the United Nations and the weakness of the global community to countenance an issue that is a threat to millions of civilians and a nation with a strong historical footprint. Not a day passes by without scores being killed in one bombing or another. Rebels keep pushing against regime forces, which supported by superior Russian military power, keeps pounding targets around Damascus, Homs, Hama, Deir Azzor, Aleppo and other major Syrian cities.
Amid countless ceasefires and meetings, Syria keeps burning. Attempts at peace have been hit by the intransigence of the warring sides. While rebels want Assad to step down and an end to attacks against them, the regime is adamant. Assad refuses to quit citing an elected mandate by the Syrian people and insists serious talks will only begin when ‘terrorism’ in the country comes to an end.
It seems there is no stopping to the daily carnage in Syria. Till the international community cannot force Assad to resign, more innocents will keep dying in hospitals and hospices.
