date of publication 9 august 2016 five children and four medical staff killed by regime airstrikes on a hospital in a rebel-held zone in syrias idlib province. tags msf syria idlib russia a hospital funded by medical charity medcins sans frontieres [msf] in a rebel-held province of northern syria was destroyed by airstrikes over the weekend that killed 13 people msf said on monday. among the dead were four staff and five children. "the direct bombing of another hospital in syria is an outrage said silvia dallatomasina msfs medical manager of operations in northwest syria while also calling for an immediate end to attacks on hospitals in syrias war. msf said that the hospital in millis idlib province was hit directly by two airstrikes that forced the closure of the medical facility. the hospital served as a referral centre specialising in pediatrics with an operating theatre and an intensive care unit. msf did not specify which government was behind the attacks however russia was on monday accused of dropping phosphorous bombs on central idlib late sunday night. the bombings came as rebel groups on the ground prepared for fresh assaults on regime positions. the medical charity said that the attack has deprived around 70000 people in millis and the surrounding towns of medical care as it used to cater for up to 250 people a day. hospitals have been regularly targeted in syrias conflict with the un recording 44 attacks in july alone on medical facilities in the war-torn country. the government of president bashar al-assad and his allies in moscow have denied bombing hospitals in their campaigns against rebel groups. according to msf two medical centres that it supports in idlib have reported a total of nice mass influxes of injured people in july. in this month alone 466 patients have been reported as wounded and 37 have died. these same rebel-controlled facilities reported 294 wounded and 33 dead in a total of seven mass influxes for the first six months of 2016. read also
syria airstrikes destroy idlib msf hospital leaving 13 dead