Eyewitness accounts and hospital staff in Suweida allege that government troops committed a massacre against Druze patients, with many being shot in their beds. This claim highlights the escalating violence and humanitarian crisis in the region, as the Syrian defense ministry acknowledges reports of violations.
Massacre Allegations Emerge from Suweida Hospital Amid Sectarian Violence
Massacre Allegations Emerge from Suweida Hospital Amid Sectarian Violence
Claims arise that Syrian government forces executed patients during a targeted raid at a hospital amid ongoing sectarian tensions in southern Syria’s Druze-majority region.
The recent escalation of violence in Suweida province, Syria’s Druze-majority area, has brought forth serious allegations of human rights violations. Eyewitnesses and medical personnel from Suweida's National Hospital claim that government forces targeted and killed patients in a brutal assault that has been characterized as a massacre. The situation in the hospital has become so dire that dozens of corpses are laid out in the hospital's parking lot, highlighting the gravity of the allegations.
Dr. Wissam Massoud, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, provided a solemn account of the raid that took place last Wednesday, stating that government troops, rather than restoring order, perpetrated the killings of some 300 individuals, including frail patients of all ages. Eyewitness descriptions paint a grim picture, with one volunteer, Kiness Abu Motab, lamenting that victims were brutally murdered simply for being part of a minority group.
Residents express a palpable sense of mistrust towards the Syrian military. Osama Malak, a local teacher, told reporters that children, including an eight-year-old boy, were executed, asserting that international law protecting medical facilities was blatantly disregarded during the attacks. The Syrian defense ministry has recognized these reports, pledging to look into the "shocking violations" attributed to those in military garb in the predominantly Druze city.
Access to Suweida has been tightly controlled, complicating efforts for independent documentation of the attacks. While the city remains under the firm control of the Druze community, Syrian government forces have recently intervened in the ongoing sectarian clashes aiming to establish a fragile ceasefire. Reports of a humanitarian crisis are compounded by ongoing allegations of summary executions and civilian targeting from all sides in this deeply fragmented conflict.
As the situation continues to evolve, the United Nations has conveyed credible evidence pointing to summary executions amid the ongoing violence, further solidifying the urgent need for impartial investigations into these tragic events.
