Syrian conflict leaves over 700 doctors dead: UN

Strikes on hospitals since Syria's conflict broke out six years ago have left hundreds of doctors and medical workers dead, according to a key UN investigator.

“More than 700 doctors and medical workers have been killed in airstrikes on hospital and clinics since the beginning of the war," Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said in a statement according to the Nation, a Pakistan-based medium.

Pinheiro, who was presenting the commission's latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, said that air raids that targeted medical facilities across Syria have killed scores of civilians, including much-needed medical professionals.

According to the commission's report, the deaths of medical workers and medics has made access to health care in Syria supremely difficult. “As civilian casualties increase, the number of medical facilities and staff decreases, limiting even further access to medical care," Pinheiro said.

Pinheiro also condemned frequent strikes on places essential to civilian life such as schools, bakeries and markets. “In every strike, terrorized survivors are left more vulnerable. Schools, mosques, hospitals are being ruined," he added.

Since March 2011, Syria's brutal conflict has left more than 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes. The brutality of Syria's conflict has prevented millions of children from attending school.