Up to three civilians died and up to five more were wounded in an alleged Russia or regime strike on the surgical hospital of Kafar Nubul, according to local media.
The New York Times later published audiofile transcripts which it said proved Russia had deliberately targeted the hospital.
According to Syria TV at the time: “A Syrian television correspondent reported that two civilians (Hussein al-Diri and Ahmad al-Rahal, who worked in the ambulances) were killed in air raids by the regime which targeted the center of the city of Kafar Nabil in the southern countryside of Idlib.”
However, a number of other sources blamed Russia.
@HadiAlabdallah tweeted: “War crime! Russian planes destroy three hospitals in one day in the countryside # Idlib and Hama, the last one was the hospital Kfarnbul surgical 5-5-2019”
The UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria described the attack in its September 2019 report, noting: “Also on 5 May, at approximately 5.30 p.m., pro-Government forces attacked Orient hospital in Kafr Nabl (Idlib) three times, with 3 to 5 minutes between each strike. Orient hospital was the closest medical facility to the Hass cave hospital, and had served up to 500 patients per day. The first air strike struck the main entrance. Two persons were killed and another five injured. The attacks rendered Orient hospital completely destroyed and inoperable.
Some 8,000 families fled Kafr Nubl since the first onslaught of aerial attacks in February, many of whom were left with no choice but to shelter under olive trees throughout northern Idlib. Also on 5 May, pro-Government forces launched air strikes against al-Sham hospital.”
In October 2019, the New York Times published what it said was proof that Russia was responsible for this attack and three other hospitals targeted on May 5th-6th: “An analysis of previously unpublished Russian Air Force radio recordings, plane spotter logs and witness accounts allowed The Times to trace bombings of four hospitals in just 12 hours in May and tie Russian pilots to each one.”
The Times gave the following account: “A doctor who worked there said that the hospital was struck four times, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The strikes landed about five minutes apart, without warning, he said, killing a man who was standing outside and forcing patients and members of the medical staff to use oxygen tanks to breathe through the choking dust.
A spotter logged a Russian jet circling above at the time of the strike, and in another Russian Air Force transmission, a pilot reports that he has “worked” his target at 5:30 p.m., the time of the strike. He then reports three more strikes, each about five minutes apart, matching the doctor’s chronology.”
Accoridng to Human Rights Watch report “The hospital was closed for a week while they repaired the damage. It was closed again in January 2020 because of Syrian army advances, and has remained closed since. Syria Sentry messages indicate that flight spotters sighted attack aircraft circling Kafr Nabl at 5:37 p.m., 5:40 p.m., and again at 5:49 p.m. In the 5:37 and 5:49 p.m. instances, spotters identified Russian “warplanes,” while at 5:40 pm the spotter identified a Russian-made Sukhoi-24 (Su-24) “Fencer,” which is flown by both the Russian and Syrian air forces in Syria. Intercepted radio communications between a Russian air force pilot and Russian ground control obtained by the New York Times also implicate a Russian aircraft in this attack.”
The incident occured at approximately 5:30 pm local time.
