BEIRUT — Airstrikes being blamed on Russia hit at least two hospitals and a school in northern Syria on Monday, killing and wounding dozens of civilians and further dimming hopes for a temporary truce, as government troops backed by Russian warplanes pressed a major offensive north of Aleppo.
The raids came just days after Russia and other world powers agreed to bring about a pause in fighting that would allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the revival of peace talks.
The projected truce that was announced Friday in Munich was to begin in a week, but there was no sign that would happen.
Syrian state TV reported Monday that pro-government forces have entered the northern town of Tel Rifaat, where they are fighting “fierce battles” against insurgents. Tel Rifaat is a major stronghold of militants fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad. Capturing Tel Rifaat would bring government forces closer to their target of Azaz, near the Turkish border.
In Idlib province, an airstrike destroyed a makeshift clinic supported by Doctors Without Borders. The international charity, also known by its French acronym MSF, said the hospital in the town of Maaret al-Numan was hit four times in attacks that were minutes apart. It said seven people were killed and eight others were “missing, presumed dead.”
“The destruction of the hospital leaves the local population of about 40,000 people without access to medical services in an active zone of conflict,” said MSF mission chief Massimiliano Rebaudengo.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian warplanes targeted the hospital, destroying it and killing nine people. The opposition group, which tracks both sides of the conflict through sources on the ground, said dozens were wounded in the attack.
“The entire building has collapsed on the ground,” said opposition activist Yahya al-Sobeih, speaking by phone from Maaret al-Numan. He said “all members of the medical team inside are believed to be dead.”
In neighboring Aleppo province, a missile hit a children’s hospital in the town of Azaz, killing five people, including three children and a pregnant woman, according to the Observatory. A third air raid hit a school in a nearby village, killing seven.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said nearly 50 civilians were killed and many more wounded in missile attacks on at least five medical facilities and two schools in northern Syria.
