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VIDEO: Newborn Babies Reportedly Evacuated From Syrian Hospital Amid Russian Airstrikes

Syrian government forces, backed by the Russian Air Force, have been intensifying their airstrikes on the country’s rebel-held areas.

Disturbing footage reportedly captured in the aftermath of heavy Russian airstrikes on Syria’s Idlib province appears to show newborn babies being evacuated from a burning hospital and a small child being pulled from the rubble of a destroyed building.

NBC News shared the video on Twitter on Tuesday.

According to NBC, the bombed hospital is located in Maarat al Numan, a city in Idlib province, one of Syria’s last rebel-held strongholds. It was reportedly struck on Sunday as Syrian government forces, supported by the Russian Air Force, intensified its airstrikes in the region.

Idlib province endured as many as 150 airstrikes between Sunday and Monday, reported The Guardian, citing monitoring groups. The raids, which allegedly included chlorine bomb attacks on civilians, caused several deaths and dozens of injuries, advocates said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bodies of at least 11 people, including children, had been pulled from the rubble of destroyed buildings in Idlib city following the Sunday strikes.

On Tuesday, the United Nations urged for an immediate month-long ceasefire in Syria so it could deliver aid to conflict zones and evacuate the sick and wounded.

The UN’s International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said it was “extremely” troubled by the recent uptick in violence in Idlib province and rebel-held areas in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, where hundreds have been killed in raids since the beginning of the year.

“Over the last 48 hours, the scale and ferocity of attacks [in Idlib and Eastern Ghouta have] increased dramatically resulting in multiple reports of civilian casualties and airstrikes that have reportedly hit at least three hospitals,” the commission said in a statement Tuesday.

“These reports are extremely troubling and make a mockery of the so-called ‘de-escalation zones’ intended to protect civilians from such bombardment,” said the commission’s chair Paulo Pinheiro in a statement, referring to promises Russia made to reduce violence in opposition-held areas including Idlib and Eastern Ghouta.

The surge in violence comes on the heels of the death of a Russian jet pilot who was shot down over Idlib province on Saturday.

“These reports are extremely troubling and make a mockery of the so-called ‘de-escalation zones’ intended to protect civilians from such bombardment,” said the commission’s chair Paulo Pinheiro in a statement, referring to promises made by Russia to reduce violence in opposition-held areas including Idlib and Eastern Ghouta.

The Syrian government and Russian military have repeatedly denied targeting civilian areas and facilities, despite reports suggesting otherwise. The government has also denied using chemical weapons in its attacks.

WARNING: The video below also contains disturbing images reportedly captured at the hospital in Maarat al Numan after it was struck in Sunday’s raid. Viewer discretion is advised.

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