UN envoy to Syria condemns deadly rocket attack on hospital in Afrin
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, firmly condemned on Monday an attack on a hospital in the Kurdish region of Afrin two days earlier in which several civilians were killed.
“Such appalling attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities and workers, are unacceptable and must cease,” Pedersen said in a statement.
“All parties must fully comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects. I also reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for accountability for crimes committed in Syria,” he continued, underlining that the attack underscores the importance of putting in place “a nationwide ceasefire in Syria.”
Local sources told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday that approximately five rockets hit Afrin around 6 p.m. local time, killing one civilian. An hour later, four more rockets struck the city, one of which hit the city's al-Shifaa Hospital, killing several civilians.
Read More: Rocket attacks in Syria's Afrin kill at least 10 civilians
Initial reporting put the number killed at roughly 10 civilians and those wounded at 34, but some estimates since have been higher.
The attack was also condemned harshly by the United States.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, must never be the target of military action,” US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement issued on Sunday.
So far, there have been no credible claims of responsibility for the incident. The explosives were reportedly fired from northern Aleppo province, where both the Syrian Arab Army and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) are present.
The Turkish government quickly blamed the YPG, as it has often done after previous such attacks.
Contrary to local accusations against the #SDF, descriptions of the attack by medical sources at al-Shifa hospital & @sams_usa clearly indicate this was a precision strike — 2 munitions hit near-simultaneously specific wings of the facility.
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) June 12, 2021
Points squarely at pro-#Assad forces. https://t.co/hEOUrlgDpj
However, Charles Lister, an analyst at the Middle East Institute, claimed in a tweet that pro-Bashar al-Assad regime forces carried out the bombing.
Both the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the YPG have denied responsibility for the attack.
“People's Defense Units unreservedly condemns this attack on a hospital,” the YPG spokesperson Nuri Mahmoud said in a statement on Monday, insisting that the group has “never targeted civilians and we are firmly opposed to any military method risking civilian lives and infrastructure in conflict zones.”
Turkish-backed factions have controlled Afrin since March 2018 when the Turkish army launched a cross-border offensive to target the YPG, which, at the time, had been administering the area since 2012. The operation killed scores of civilians and forced thousands of Kurds to flee their homes.
Human rights organizations have accused armed groups operating in the area of committing war crimes, including intentional ethnic cleansing, kidnapping for ransom, and gender-based violence.
Afrin has been plagued by regular attacks on groups aligned with Turkey and indiscriminate bombings that have also killed civilians. In addition, the area sees frequent infighting between rival factions that also lead to civilian deaths.
Turkey-backed forces have also conducted deadly attacks on Tal Rifaat, a nearby district that houses nearly 170,000 displaced Kurds from Afrin.
Editing by John J. Catherine