France and Turkey denounce raids in which up to 50 people were killed as Assad casts doubt on prospects for a truce.

16 Feb 2016 – France and Turkey have called the bombing of two schools and five hospitals in Syria “war crimes”, while hopes for a ceasefire faded as Bashar al-Assad played down prospects of a truce.
Up to 50 civilians, including children, died when missiles hit at least five medical buildings and two schools in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the raids violated international law and “cast a shadow” over efforts to end Syria’s five-year civil war. He did not say who was responsible for the attacks but groups monitoring the conflict suspected the strikes were carried out by Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said attacks on health facilities in Syria by the regime or its supporters were “unacceptable and must stop immediately”.
Turkey on Monday separately accused Russia of “an obvious war crime” and warned that there would be consequences if Russia did not immediately end such attacks.
Syria’s ambassador to Moscow, Riad Haddad, said the hospital had been targeted by a US raid.
[The fact] “That the Assad regime and its supporters would continue these attacks … casts doubt on Russia’s willingness and/or ability to help bring to a stop the continued brutality of the Assad regime against its own people,” the US State Department said.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said that they were prepared to send ground troops to Syria to fight ISIL if a US-led coalition targeting the group with air strikes agreed to the offer.
Russia warned that if foreign troops entered the country it could lead to a world war.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies