11 May 2016•Update: 12 May 2016
By Omar Shagaleh and Mahmut Geldi
ISTANBUL
A Syrian opposition member has said that attacks by the Syrian regime on hospitals and schools in opposition-held areas of the war-torn country are aimed at forcing residents to flee their homes.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Jawad Abu Hatab, a member of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, said more than 70 percent of the hospitals in opposition-held areas had been targeted by regime forces.
"These attacks aim to force residents to leave their homes and native areas," he said, going on to cite recent attacks by regime forces and Russian warplanes in the northern Aleppo province.
"These attacks will force thousands of civilians to flee to the [Turkish] border with a view to leaving Syria," he said.
"How can people stay there when there are no hospitals or schools?" he asked.
Abu Hatab also lamented the chronic shortage of doctors and medical staff in opposition-held areas of Syria.
"Doctors in opposition-controlled areas are either in jail, living in constant fear of attack, or have already immigrated abroad," he said.
He went on to urge the international community to pressure both the Assad regime and Russia to halt their attacks on hospitals and civilian infrastructure.
"If it wanted to, the international community could impose a no-fly zone [in northern Syria] within 24 hours and stop warplanes from bombing hospitals," he said.
Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed, according to UN figures.
