AANES calls for UN action over Aleppo strikes
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) on Saturday called on the United Nations and the international community to assume their legal and moral responsibilities regarding the ongoing bombardment of Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, which has targeted residential areas, hospitals, and health facilities.
In a statement, the AANES Health Board urged the UN Security Council, the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and international human rights and humanitarian organizations to take “immediate and effective measures to stop the machinery of war.”
The statement stressed the need to end “random and deliberate shelling crimes targeting residential neighborhoods and civilian facilities, foremost among them hospitals and health institutions.”
For the fifth consecutive day, the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, densely populated with civilians, have turned into an open battlefield. Heavy weapons have been used in what the Health Board described as a dangerous escalation threatening the lives of tens of thousands of residents.
The statement added that the attacks constitute “a blatant violation of the principles of international humanitarian law, which stipulate the protection of civilians during armed conflicts.”
Medical staff and administrators in northeast Syria condemned the repeated targeting of Khalid Fajr Hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud, which has been struck four times. According to the statement, “the repeated targeting of the hospital, at close intervals, clearly and unequivocally indicates that this shelling is deliberate and systematic, aiming to render the hospital completely out of service.”
The Health Board confirmed that the deliberate bombardment resulted in the deaths of several health workers and injuries to others while performing their humanitarian duties. It described the attacks as “a full-fledged war crime under the Geneva Conventions, particularly the Fourth Convention and its additional protocols, which explicitly stipulate the protection of medical facilities and staff at all times.”