Russia not named in UN probe into strike on hospital in Syria

UNITED NATIONS: A UN board of inquiry investigating attacks on civilian establishments in Syria, i nc l udi ng ho s p i t a l s , ha s refrained from directly holding Russia responsible, according to a summary of its report published on Monday.

The coordinates of the sites had been communicated to the belligerents by t he United Nations to protect them from air strikes.

Without mentioning Russia, the investigation concluded that in four out of the seven cases studied by the board -- a school, a health centre, a surgical hospital and a protection centre - “the government of Syria and/or its allies had carried out the airstrike.”in 2019, The New York Times published an exhaustive investigation, notably including recordings of Russian pilots, that directly incriminated Russia in attacks on hospitals in Syria.

“The refusal to explicitly name Russia as a responsible party working alongside the Syrian government... is deeply disappointing,” Human Rights Watch said after the summary was published.

The UN commission chose seven cases, but its investigators were unable to visit the sites because the Syrian government did not grant visas.

The cases included the Martyr Akram Ali Ibrahim Al-ahmad school in Madiq Castle on April 2018, 2019, and the Rakaya Sijneh health centre on May 3.

There were no victims in either case. The report said it was highly likely the raids were conducted by Syria or its allies.

The commission also looked at the Kafr Nabutha health centre (May 7), which had no victims and was also likely conducted by Syria and its allies.

A May 14 raid on the Nayrab Palestinian refugee camp, in Aleppo, resulted in 10 deaths and about 30 people injured, and was likely carried out by the Syrian branch of Al-qaeda, the report said.

The Kafr Nobol surgical center (July 4) attack had no victims, and its coordinates were given to Russia.the Ariha protection center attack (July 28) resulted in a few people injured, and its coordinates were also given to Russia.

The report found it was highly likely that both raids were conducted by Syria or its allies. Moscow, the Damascus regime’s main political and military supporter, has denied that its aircraft targeted civilian sites.