Russian warplanes continue to carry out airstrikes on the cities and towns of Idlib countryside, destroying hospitals and medical equipment and killing dozens of civilians.
Orient correspondent Hashem al-Abdullah stated that "six Russian warplanes were spotted early Friday (April 28) roaming the sky of Idlib countryside," amidst reports of targeting Sarmin and Kafr Takharim cities, in addition to striking an obstetrics hospital.
"Russian airstrikes on Sarmin city caused a whole residential building to collapse, killing a woman and injuring civilians and Syria Civil Defense volunteers," al-Abdullah reported.
As Russian warplanes targeted Kafr Takharim, "an obstetrics hospital was targeted, causing major damages to its infrastructure and injuring a number of its patients," he reported.
"Russian warplanes dropped cluster bombs on al-A’rba’en Mountain near Ariha but no injuries have been reported yet."
However, three civilians were reported killed, a woman and her two children, and several others injured as Russian warplanes targeted Kherb Qays village in Idlib northern countryside.
For the past few days, Russian warplanes have intensified their shelling on civilian-populated areas of the opposition-held Idlib province.
On Thursday (April 27), a total of 18 civilians were reported killed across Idlib countryside due to the indiscriminate Russian shelling of heavily civilian populated neighborhoods.
Idlib News Network reported that Russian warplanes targeted al-Jami’a Hospital in Deir Sharqi village in Maarat al-Numan eastern countryside, killing three patients who were in the recovery department and wounding a number of the medical staff.
Following the hospital attack, Russian warplanes targeted a funeral in nearby Ma’arshooren village, killing four civilians, including two children, and injuring dozens.
The network added that the jets targeted a medical point on the outskirts of the town of Ma’rzita, killing four of the medical staff, and carried on targeting towns and villages of Kafr Sijnah, Sarja and Khan Sheikhoun, killing seven civilians and wounding dozens.
On the same day, a market and an archaeological building in Sarmin city were subjected to aerial bombardment by Russian warplanes, in addition to Jesr al-Sho’or, the hill of Prophet Ayyub, al-Sahaqiyah and the outskirts of Maarat al-Numan, al-Nayrab, al-Tamana’ and Bsenqul, injuring many civilians in an ongoing attack.
The Ministry of Health in the Syrian interim government sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, regarding the systematic bombing by the Assad regime and Russia of hospitals and medical facilities, which killed dozens of the medical cadres, destroyed a large number of medical equipment and vehicles and rendered many hospitals inoperable.
The ministry said in a statement that since 2011 until 2015, at least 70 medical points have been targeted, killing around 497 between doctors, nurses and paramedics, pointing out that these figures increased in 2016, as 286 medical points have been reported destroyed and 151 medical staff have been killed.