The medical charity Doctors Without Borders has condemned the repeated barrel-bombing of a hospital in a rebel-held part of the war-ravaged Syrian province of Homs.
The organization, which goes by its French initials MSF, said the bombings have killed seven people and wounded 47. Half of the wounded are women and children under the age of 15, it said.
MSF said the hospital was attacked twice on Saturday. The group said a helicopter dropped the first barrel bomb on a populated area near Homs, killing a man and young girl and wounding 16 people. After the patients were admitted to the hospital, three more barrel bombs landed nearby, killing one person and wounding 31 patients and medical staff, according to MSF.
"This bombing shows all the signs of a double-tap, where one area is bombed and then a second bombing hits the paramedic response teams or the nearest hospital providing care," MSF Director of Operations Brice de le Vingne said in a statement. "This double-tap tactic shows a level of calculated destruction that can scarcely be imagined."
MSF said it is offering support to repair or relocate the hospital, and is preparing to send medical supplies to help the hospital team continue operating.
The Syrian conflict has killed an estimated 250,000 people since it began in 2011.
