Orient Net, 09 March 2018 -Some 67 attacks on health facilities and workers in Syria have been verified in the first two months of 2018, equal to half of all those throughout last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday (March 9), denouncing them as “unacceptable”.

In February, 39 verified attacks on health facilities, ambulances and warehouses included 28 in the rebel-held besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta, 10 in Idlib and one in Homs, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a Geneva news briefing. He could not say whether most were due to air strikes or shelling.

“In all of 2017, which totalled 112. So again, in total, 2017, we had 112 verified attacks, and in the first two months of this year alone, 67.”

These “unacceptable” attacks killed 19 people, including four health workers, Lindmeier said.

Lindmeier called on all parties to stop targeting health personnel and structures, reiterating that medical workers and facilities are protected under international humanitarian law.