Medical worker at Syria hospital killed by men in military garb, security footage shows
The video published by activist media collective Suwayda 24 was dated July 16, during intense clashes between militias of the Druze minority community and armed tribal groups and government forces.
In the video, which was also widely shared on social media, a large group of people in scrubs can be seen kneeling on the floor in front of a group of armed men. The armed men grab a man and hit him on the head as if they are going to apprehend him. The man tries to resist by wrestling with one of the gunmen, before he is shot once with an assault rifle and then a second time by another person with a pistol.
A man in a dark jumpsuit with 'Internal Security Forces' written on it appears to be guiding the men in camouflage into the hospital.
Another security camera shows a tank stationed outside the facility.
Activist media groups say the gunmen were from the Syrian military and security forces.
A Syrian government official said they could not immediately identify the attackers in the video, and are investigating the incident to try to figure out if they are government-affiliated personnel or gunmen from tribal groups.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not immediately cleared to speak to the media on the matter.
Clashes break out again in Syria as the interim government struggles to maintain ceasefire
The government has set up a committee tasked with investigating attacks on civilians during the sectarian violence in the country's south, which is supposed to issue a report within three months.
The incident at the Sweida National Hospital further exacerbates tensions between the Druze minority community and the Syrian government, after clashes in July between Druze and armed Bedouin groups sparked targeted sectarian attacks against them.
The violence has worsened ties between them and Syria's Islamist-led interim government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who hopes to assert full government control and disarm Druze factions.
Though the fighting has largely calmed down, government forces have surrounded the southern city and the Druze have said that little aid is going into the battered city, calling it a siege.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which has organized aid convoys into Sweida, said in a statement on Saturday that one of those convoys that was carrying aid in the day before 'came under direct fire,' and some of its vehicles were damaged. It did not specify which group attacked the convoy.
On Sunday, the UN Security Council adopted a statement expressing 'deep concern' at the violence in southern Syria and condemning violence against civilians in Sweida. It called for the government to 'ensure credible, swift, transparent, impartial, and comprehensive investigations.'
The statement also reiterated 'obligations under international humanitarian law to respect and protect all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transportation and equipment, as well as hospitals and medical facilities.'
It expressed concern about 'foreign terrorist fighters' in Syria, while calling on 'all states to refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize the country,' an apparent message to Israel, which intervened in last month's conflict on the side of the Druze, launching airstrikes on Syrian government forces.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
7 hours ago
- CTV News
Video shows police detain allegedly drunk pilot preparing for flight
Watch Airport police have released security and bodycam footage of the arrest of a Southwest Airlines pilot accused of attempting to fly while intoxicated.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Turkey to provide weapons and support to Syria under new defense agreement
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey will provide weapons, military equipment, and logistical support to Syria under a newly signed defense cooperation agreement, Turkish Defense Ministry officials said Thursday. The announcement came a day after Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Syria's Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on military training and consultancy, reinforcing Turkey's support to Syria's interim government. Syria last month requested Turkey's support to strengthen its defense capabilities following sectarian violence in the country that also drew intervention by Israel. Under the agreement, Turkey would share its 'knowledge and experience' and supply military equipment, weapons systems and logistical materials to help strengthen the country's capabilities, Turkish Defense Ministry officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be quoted by name. Syria's newly formed interim government has faced mounting challenges in restoring orde r and addressing the deep scars left by nearly 14 years of civil conflict, following the ouster of former President Bashar Assad by Islamist-led rebel forces in December. Most recently, hundreds were killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side and fighters from the Druze minority on the other. Turkey has been supportive of Syria's new administration, which is formed largely by rebels that Ankara backed during the civil war. Also Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned Israel and Kurdish fighters to cease actions threatening Syria's stability, accusing them of undermining the country's efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war. Speaking during a joint news conference Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Ankara, Fidan accused the U.S.-allied and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of stalling the implementation of an agreement that was reached in March to merge with the Syrian army. Last week, representatives of Syria's various ethnic and religious groups held a conference in the northeastern Syrian city of Hassakeh — which is under the SDF's control — and called for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism. The Syrian government criticized the meeting, and alleged that among the attendees were some with secessionist ambitions. It said that as a result it long longer intends to join planned talks with the SDF in Paris that had been agreed upon in late July. No date had yet been set for the Paris talks.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
UN: Syrian factions committed ‘widespread and systematic' attacks on civilians in coastal violence
BEIRUT — A UN-backed commission that investigated sectarian violence on Syria's coast earlier this year found that there was 'widespread and systematic' violence against civilians perpetrated by some government-affiliated factions, but found no evidence that it was directed by the central government. An extensive report released Thursday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria examined the violence that began with clashes between armed groups aligned with former Syrian President Bashar Assad and the new government's security forces in March. It then spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks and massacres that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs. The violence came months after Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in December and at a time when the country's new rulers were attempting to forge a new national army out of a patchwork of former insurgent factions. 'Widespread and systematic' violations The commission named several government-affiliated factions whose members allegedly took part in 'extrajudicial killings and torture and ill-treatment of primarily the civilian population of Alawi majority villages and neighborhoods in a manner that was both widespread and systematic' during the coastal violence. They include the 62nd and 76th divisions of the new Syrian army, also known as the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza Division — both of them formerly part of a coalition made up of Turkish-backed armed factions in northwest Syria. The report also singled out the 400th Division, made up of former brigades of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that was formerly led by Syria's current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. However, the report said the commission 'found no evidence of a governmental policy or plan to carry out such attacks.' It also found that pro-Assad armed groups had committed 'acts that likely amount to crimes, including war crimes' during the violence. A separate investigation into the coastal violence ordered by the government released its findings last month. It concluded that some members of the new Syrian military had committed 'widespread, serious violations against civilians,' but said there was no evidence that military leaders had ordered those attacks. The government investigation found that more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed. In a letter in response to Thursday's UN report, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the government takes 'serious note of the alleged violations' detailed in it the report and said that the recommendations — which included increased screening of recruits to the security forces and recruiting from minority communities — 'will serve as a roadmap for Syria's continued progress.' How the violence unfolded The UN commission's report noted that in the leadup to the coastal violence in March there had been scattered clashes between pro-Assad and new government forces as well as increasing incidents of 'harassment and violations' against Alawite communities, 'including killings, abductions, looting or occupation of property.' In early March, pro-Assad armed groups launched a series of attacks on the General Security forces of the new government along the coast. During the clashes that followed, pro-Assad fighters also overran hospitals, shot at and abducted journalists coming to cover the conflict, and in at least one case shot and killed women and children, the report said. With the General Security forces overwhelmed, tens of thousands of fighters from allied factions, as well as armed civilians, converged on the coast. Many began raiding houses in Alawite-majority areas, where in many cases they 'asked civilians whether they were Sunni or Alawi' and 'Alawi men and boys were then taken away to be executed,' the report found. 'Most victims were men of Alawi background, aged between 20 to 50 years, though women and children as young as one year old were also killed during house raids,' the report said. In some cases, the bodies were then desecrated, and family members were prevented from burying their dead. The report also found that there had been widespread cases of robbery and looting by armed groups. Allegations of abduction and sexual assault The commission also investigated reports of kidnapping of Alawite women and found 'credible information' of at least six cases in the weeks preceding and following the main outbreak of violence in March. It is investigating 'dozens' of other reports. In at least two of the confirmed cases, the victims were 'abducted for the purpose of forced marriage,' while in other cases, the kidnappers demanded ransoms from the victims' families. In one particularly disturbing case prior to the coastal clashes, the report said masked men dressed in black and wearing black headbands inscribed with 'There is no god but God' abducted a woman from the street and gang-raped her, then sold her to an older man to whom she was forcibly married. 'The Commission is not aware of any individuals being arrested or prosecuted yet in connection with these abductions,' the report said. Another threat to the political transition The investigation into the coastal violence comes as Syria is reeling from another outbreak of sectarian violence last month that has again threatened the country's fragile political transition after nearly 14 years of civil war. This time, clashes broke out in the southern Sweida province between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side, and fighters from the country's Druze minority on the other. Hundreds were killed and tens of thousands displaced, and allegations have surfaced of government fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burning houses. The government has again launched an investigation into the allegations, but minority communities have become increasingly wary of the Sunni Muslim-led authorities. Last week, representatives of Syria's various ethnic and religious groups held a conference in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syrian city and called for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism. Abby Sewell, The Associated Press
