Russia accused of war crime for bombing Syrian hospital

RUSSIA could be guilty of an ‘appalling’ war crime for bombing hospitals and schools in Syria which left up to 50 people dead, Philip Hammond said yesterday.

In a withering rebuke, the Foreign Secretary said Moscow must ‘explain’ its actions. He said the devastating bombardment, which rode roughshod over international law, ‘must be investigated’.

Children and women were among the victims as Russian jets reduced to rubble buildings being used to treat innocent civilians and shelter families fleeing the civil war. Meanwhile, Turkey ratcheted up ten- sions by urging America and Britain to join a ‘ground offensive’ in Syria in a desperate attempt to end the five-year conflict.

Officials in Ankara said it would be ‘impossible’ to stop the fighting without boots on the ground. However, the West will not risk being drawn into a military clash with Russia, which denied targeting the hospitals and schools.

A proposed ceasefire, agreed by world powers and due to begin tomorrow to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid, is in tatters.

In another blow to the planned truce, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad warned in a televised address that a pause in hostilities did not mean all parties would put down their weapons.

Monday’s strikes hit two hospitals – including one for mothers and babies – and a school sheltering internally displaced people in Azaz, near the border with Turkey, the UN said. Thirty-four people were killed and dozens wounded.

Two hospitals, one supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres, were also struck in Maarat alNuman, further south in Idlib province, killing at least 12 people and wounding about 36.