Saturday’s attack on the opposition-held northern town of Afrin killed at 21 people BEIRUT: The International Rescue Committee on Sunday condemned the shelling on the Syrian city of Afrin that put a hospital out of service and killed civilians and medical staff. Saturday’s attack on the opposition-held northern town killed at least 21 people, mostly in shelling on the hospital, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. “We utterly condemn this deadly attack on Al-Shifaa Hospital, one of the largest medical facilities in northern Syria,” said IRC’s Syria director Wolfgang Gressmann. “This is the 11th attack on healthcare that has been recorded so far this year, and brings the total number of verified attacks on healthcare since January 2019 to 124.” Of the 21 killed, 17 were civilians, including at least 4 hospital staff members, the Observatory said, adding that 23 people were also wounded. The IRC said the attack completely destroyed the emergency room and the labor and delivery room. This is the 11th attack on healthcare that has been recorded so far this year. Wolfgang Gressmann, Syria director of IRC “The hospital is now out of service,” the statement said. “It is vital that these attacks stop.” According to the Observatory, Saturday’s artillery fire originated from northern Aleppo province where militias backing Iran and the Syrian regime are deployed near a region run by Kurdish forces. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a statement denying any involvement in the shelling. The Afrin region, like all areas held by pro-Turkish rebels, regularly witnesses targeted killings, bombings and shootings. The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations. Separately, the Lebanese army on Sunday said it intercepted a small boat carrying 11 people, mostly Syrians, attempting an illegal sea crossing out of the crisis-hit country. A statement said a naval force spotted the boat off the northern port city of Tripoli and that its passengers were all detained and referred for investigation, the army added. The boat was carrying “10 people of Syrian nationality and a Lebanese national,” it said. Their journey’s end was not specified but neighboring Cyprus, a member of the European Union, has been a popular sea smuggling destination in recent months. In May, the Lebanese army intercepted a boat near Tripoli carrying 60 people, including 59 Syrians. Lebanon, home to more than 6 million people, says it hosts more than a million Syrian refugees. They have been hit hard by widening poverty rates and growing food insecurity brought on by the country’s economic crisis.