Russia denies Idlib school bombing

UN envoy, however, wants investigation into ‘a war crime’

MOSCOW // Russia yesterday denied carrying out air strikes on a school in Syria’s Idlib province that killed at least 22 children.

“The Russian Federation has nothing to do with this terrible tragedy, with this attack,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, adding that Moscow demanded an immediate investigation. She said claims that Russian and Syrian warplanes had conducted the air strikes were “a lie”.

The air strikes struck the village of Hass about midday on Wednesday, hitting a residential compound that includes a school complex. The UN children’s agency Unicef said the school compound had been “repeatedly attacked” and that the death toll had risen to 22 children and six teachers.

The UN envoy for global education, former British prime minister Gordon Brown, called for a war crimes investigation.

“This is the worst assault on school children among 98 separate attacks on Syrian schools in the last two years,” he said.

“I am calling on the Security Council to immediately agree that the International Criminal Court prosecutor conduct an investigation into what I believe is a war crime.”

Idlib is the main Syrian rebel stronghold, although extremist militant groups also have a large presence there. It has regularly been hit by Syrian and Russian warplanes as well as the US-led coalition targeting ISIL.