Syrian Hospital Staff Executed by Gunmen
Chilling footage shows hospital staff killed amid Sweida clashes.
A disturbing undated video circulating on social media, reportedly filmed on July 16, 2025, inside Sweida National Hospital, captures a violent incident in Sweida, Syria, where intense clashes erupted last month between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribal groups. The footage, shared by activist media collective Suwayda 24, shows men in medical uniforms kneeling under the watch of armed men, identified by activists as members of the Syrian military and security forces. One individual, wearing a jumpsuit marked “Internal Security Forces,” appears to guide the gunmen into the hospital, with security footage also showing a tank outside the facility.
In the video, the situation escalates when one detainee, after being slapped, resists and is immediately shot twice at close range. Additional gunfire follows, with several others collapsing. The authenticity and exact timing of the video could not be independently verified. The incident reportedly occurred during fierce fighting in Sweida, a Druze-majority city of over 70,000, which remains under Druze control despite government forces regaining nearby villages. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local eyewitnesses claim government forces initially intervened to enforce a ceasefire but later aligned with Bedouin militias against the Druze.
Syria’s interior ministry, via state-run news agency SANA, condemned the act and announced that Maj Gen Abdul Qader Al-Tahhan, deputy minister of interior for security affairs, is overseeing an investigation to identify and arrest the perpetrators. “We condemn and denounce this act in the strongest terms, and we affirm that the perpetrators will be held accountable and brought to justice,” the ministry stated, as reported by the Associated Press.
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On August 9, 2025, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze community, condemned the violence in a televised statement, calling for an international inquiry into the hospital incident and the broader conflict. He urged that those responsible be brought before the International Criminal Court and requested international observers to protect civilians in Sweida.
The incident has heightened concerns about escalating violence and the safety of civilians in the region.
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