Syrian Airstrike Hits MSF-Supported Hospital Near Jordan Border

Building Damaged, Ambulance Out of Service

An airstrike in southern Syria’s Daraa province hit a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) supported hospital earlier this week, killing at least three people, and wounding six others, including a nurse who was working at the facility.

MSF reported that the strike incapacitated the hospital’s ambulance service, and did some damage to the building, which is just seven miles away from the Jordanian border, near Tafas. MSF reported some 20,000 civilians fled in the area.

Fighting has picked up in the Daraa Province in recent weeks, with the Syrian military advancing into multiple towns and chasing the rebels back. When Jordan was allowing rebels to use their territory, they were able to amass significant gains in Daraa.

MSF hospitals have been hit in increasing numbers across the region, as airstrikes by myriad forces seem to neglect their legal obligation to not bomb hospitals. In recent months, MSF hospitals have been hit in growing numbers in Syria and Yemen, while the US attacked a major hospital in Afghanistan late last year.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.