The U.S. deplored a “barbaric” attack on a hospital in northwestern Syria a day before President Joe Biden and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan were due to meet in Brussels.
Turkey blamed U.S.-backed Kurdish forces for the attack on Saturday on the hospital in Afrin province, which killed at least 14 people and wounded 32 others. The Kurdish militants denied involvement and the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights blamed Syrian government forces.
After the carnage at the al-Shifaa Hospital, Turkish troops shelled positions of Kurdish forces, who have emerged as the main fighting force against Islamic State in Syria.
“This barbaric attack took the lives of children, medical staff, and first responders,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday. “This attack is part of a recent escalation of violence in northwest Syria and must end.”
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