Syria civil war: At least two dead after maternity hospital hit by air strikes in rebel-held Idlib province

There was no immediate confirmation of which party in the conflict was behind the hospital strike but Bashar al-Assad’s regime forces or Russian allies were suspected.

Idlib province is almost completely under rebel control, including a strong presence of al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusragroup.

It claimed it had split from Osama bin Laden’s terror organisation on Thursday and re-named itself as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of the Levant) in a suspected attempt to garner greater support from moderate rebel groups and international backers.

Friday's bombing was the latest in a series of air raids hitting medical facilities in Syria, including others in Idlib province, as well as neighbouring Aleppo.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said it believed suspected Russian air strikes on its hospital in Maarat al-Numan in February were a "deliberate attack".

A maternity hospital in Idlib province that was damaged by an air strike on 29 July (Save the Children)

Humanitarian organisations and governments are continuing to raise concerns about besieged areas of Syria and the bombardment of civilian areas.

Aid workers from the Shafak charity, which runs an ambulance network, said children make up more than a third of the casualties they treat in Aleppo.

Rami, whose named was changed to protect his identity, said the death rate was rising in the divided city because medics are no longer able to evacuate patients from surrounded rebel areas for treatment.

He described finding children buried beneath the rubble of one recent air strike, adding: “A child less than ten years old ran to me shouting 'sir please put my arm back'. His left arm was amputated and he held it with his right hand.

"He was begging me to put it back, and this is only one of so many tragedies that we see.”

Russian authorities promised to open three routes to allow unarmed rebels and civilians to flee Aleppo on Thursday after coming under increasing international pressure, but the pledge was met with distrust