Syria crisis: al-Qaida claims it killed Syrian troops in Iraq Healthcare is increasingly being used as a tactic of war in the Syrian conflict, according to the UN and the humanitarian agency Médecins Sans Frontières. The latest UN report into human rights abuses in the conflict says medical access is being denied on political and sectarian grounds. The report [pdf] by the UN investigator Paulo Pinheiro describes "the use of medical care as a tactic of war" as one of the most alarming recent developments. It echoes similar concerns highlighted by MSF in a report published last week which documented the targeting of hospitals, clinics and doctors as a tactic of war. One Syrian doctor told MSF: "When [the army] came, I had to leave because they arrest doctors who treat the wounded. For them, doctors are as good as terrorists. Pinheiro's reports says medical professionals face intimidation and coercion from both sides: Medical personnel serving in government hospitals have a well-founded fear of punishment if they provide treatment to members of anti-government armed groups. Doctors and nurses have also described incidents in which they have been coerced by government security forces to take the bodies of executed armed group fighters and register them as deceased patients. Medical staff in government hospitals also fear abduction by armed groups who perceive them as loyal to the state. Such acts instrumentalise the medical profession, drawing humanitarian professionals into the conflict. Pinheiro also said his team were investigating claims that both sides have targeted civilian areas in unlawful attacks. In the case of the government attacks these involve Scud missiles, Pinheiro confirmed. Government forces have fired medium and long-range missiles, which have caused widespread damage to residential neighbourhoods in Aleppo. A missile strike in Aleppo city is reported to have killed over 200 people on 18 February 2013. A later strike on 22 February left at least 50 people, including children, dead. Insider accounts detail Syrian air force commanders giving orders to shell entire areas of Aleppo city without discriminating between civilian and military objectives. According to the evidence collected, densely populated neighbourhoods were shelled almost daily, often resulting in their total destruction. Such conduct violates the principle of distinction and amounts to a violation of international humanitarian law. Rebels are alleged to have targeted civilian areas with mortars, Pinheiro's report said: Investigations continue into an FSA mortar attack on Mushrefah, an Alawite village in Homs, which appears to have directly targeted the civilian population. Several reports were also received of FSA groups issuing warnings to civilians living nearby, prior to attacking a government checkpoint. Pinheiro said the killers of men found in river in Aleppo in January had yet to be established as his team has been denied access to the area. His report also criticised the failure of rebels to safeguard human rights in areas they control where they have set up de facto governments and courts. Lacking in technical capacity, the quasi-judicial mechanisms set up by anti-government armed groups fall short of international standards of due process. Captured soldiers and government-affiliated militia members are regularly executed, following a hasty and often partial review of their conduct, with little apparent regard given to the right of defence.