BEIRUT, 14 June, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, the International Rescue Committee condemned the shelling on Syrian city Afrin.

The shelling put a hospital out of service and killed civilians and medical staff.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the attack took the lives of at least 21 people.

“We utterly condemn this deadly attack on Al-Shifaa Hospital, one of the largest medical facilities in northern Syria,” said IRC’s Syria director Wolfgang Gressmann.

“This is the 11th attack on healthcare that has been recorded so far this year, and brings the total number of verified attacks on healthcare since January 2019 to 124.”
Of the 21 killed, 17 were civilians, including at least 4 hospital staff members, and 23 people were also wounded, said the Observatory.

However, the Afrin region, like all areas held by pro-Turkish rebels, regularly witnesses targeted killings, bombings and shootings.

Moreover, the conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.