The Syrian envoy to the United Nations has accused French charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) of being a front for French intelligence operating in Syria, French newspaper Le Monde reports.
Bashar Jaafari made the comments after a missile strike destroyed an MSF-operated hospital in the Idlib province of Syria on Monday, an attack in which at least 11 people died.
"The so-called hospital was installed without any prior consultation with the Syrian government by the so-called French network called MSF which is a branch of the French intelligence operating in Syria," Bashar Jaafari said, according to AFP.
A MSF spokesperson told Business Insider in an email that the organisation retained "absolute independence from all political, military and religious entities and powers," and that its medical operations in Syria were completely funded by private donations. "The medical humanitarian organisation always acts with total impartiality, on the basis of its own assessment of the medical needs of a population. This is the case in Syria, as in all places where MSF works."
Both Russia and the US-led coalition have been blamed for the strike with both denying any involvement.
Jaafari repeated claims that the US was responsible for the attack and asserted that the Syrian government had "credible information" backing those accusations.
French Ambassador to the UN, Francois Delattre, immediately condemned the Syrian ambassador's "revolting remarks... which showed once again his true face," AFP reported.
MSF's Head of Mission Massimiliano Rebaudengo said that destruction of the hospital left around 40,000 people without access to medical services in a conflict zone.
"The destruction on the MSF supported facility appears to be a deliberate attack on a health structure," Rebaudengo said.
MSF was founded in Paris in 1971 and now consists worldwide of 24 associations, bound together as MSF International, which is based in Switzerland.
The organisation describes itself as "an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare."
"[MSF] assume the full consequences of the act because they did not consult with the Syrian government," Jaafari told reporters following a UN Security Council meeting. "They did not operate with the Syrian government's permission."
According to MSF, they maintain a dialogue with all parties involved in the conflict and have been requesting official permission to work in Syria.
"In opposition-controlled areas... undertaking any assistance or rescue activities, particularly medical, is considered illegal by the Syrian government," MSF said in a statement, "This has been the case since the early days of the conflict. Aid organisations and aid workers are officially considered as guilty of "supporting terrorism." Mr Jaafari’s statement is entirely in line with this policy of criminalising humanitarian aid.">
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