Airstrikes on hospitals kill 50, cast doubt on cease-fire

UN chief says raids violate international law; Assad calls truce 'difficult' to implement

Hopes for a cease-fire in Syria were fading on Tuesday, after dozens were killed in airstrikes on hospitals that France branded war crimes and the Syrian president said implementing a truce would prove "difficult".

The United Nations said nearly 50 civilians, including children, died in the airstrikes on at least five medical facilities and two schools in Syria's Aleppo and Idlib provinces.