The city of Aleppo in Syria has been pushed back into war on Thursday after seeing some months of relative peace, The New York Times reports. Health workers and civilians found themselves in the midst of chaos as government airstrikes leveled Al Quds Hospital in the area held by insurgents, and rebels fought back with mortar assaults.
Aleppo, once a thriving commercial center, has been a conflict zone since the war started, divided between the insurgents and the government. Until now, it had seen some respite due to the partial cease-fire agreement. However, the sudden sounds of artillery and fighter planes overhead threw the city into a panic on both sides.
At least 27 people, including six hospital workers and three children, were among those killed in the hospital strike. 20 were reported killed in airstrikes on Thursday, and at least 14 more died from the mortar attacks. Most of the deaths were civilians, confirmed hospital officials at Al Razi hospital, which had been taking in a steady stream of injured people.
Al Quds hospital was well-known and had been receiving assistance from international charity Doctors Without Borders. The hospital was filled with victims from prior shelling when it was hit. Footage of the aftermath showed bodies pinned underneath the hospital rubble. The hospital was the main pediatric center in the area.
This fatal incident in Aleppo emphasized the fighting that has been heating up over the past week and has broken the partial truce in Syria’s five-year war.
The escalation has likewise threatened efforts at peace talks in Geneva by the United Nations, and relief workers say could halt humanitarian aid that has been helping the most war-torn areas of the country, affecting millions of Syrians.
“I could not in any way express how high the stakes are for the next hours and days,” Jan Egeland, the UN special adviser on Syria aid said Thursday as the immensity of the Aleppo conflict became clearer. The BBC reports that the UN has called it a “catastrophic” situation.
Two more hospitals in Maarat al-Noama, to the east, were both hit on the same day earlier this year. One of the hospitals was also working with Doctors Without Borders. Groups such as Physicians for Human Rights have expressed increasing concern over the emerging pattern of targeting health care facilities run by the government.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called on both sides to stop the attacks and protect civilians, or Aleppo would face what the Red Cross said to be a new humanitarian disaster.
The strikes continued throughout Thursday, with reports of government attacks on the rebel strongholds of Bustan al-Qasr and Kalaseh. Videos showed heavily damaged buildings and casualties, many of whom were children.
The firing didn’t stop as evening came, raining more death and destruction down on the already torn city. Tallies from both sides of the battle have put the death toll at over 200, and counting. Videos show survivors covered in debris, crying, carrying their loved ones out of shelled buildings, seriously injured on the streets and in hospitals, mourning the loss of life and city.
“Wherever you are, you hear explosions of mortars, shelling and planes flying over,” said Valter Gros of Red Cross Aleppo. “Everyone here fears for their lives and nobody knows what is coming next.”
