The Syrian government and Russia have in the last month bombed eight hospitals in the rebel stronghold of Idlib whose coordinates were shared with Moscow in the hope of preventing such attacks, doctors say.

The United Nations gave the GPS locations supplied by NGOs operating in Idlib to Russia as part of a “deconfliction mechanism”.

The regime and Russia, which intervened in the war in support of President Bashar al-Assad in 2015, have systematically targeted hospitals and clinics during assaults on opposition strongholds.

Since the government began its offensive on Idlib on April 30, more than 24 facilities have been hit, in what doctors are calling a “record”.

Among the eight that feature on the UN humanitarian office OCHA’s “deconfliction” list was a maternity hospital in the town of al-Atareb which had to evacuate premature babies.