A video recording from a surveillance camera installed at the National Hospital in Suwayda has circulated online, showing government forces storming the hospital and executing a healthcare worker after a physical altercation.

The perpetrators, wearing military uniforms from the Ministry of Defense and Internal Security Forces, also surrounded other doctors in the emergency ward. The footage, obtained by the Suwayda 24 website, was recorded on July 16.

Suwayda Health Director Osama Qandilft told Enab Baladi that the hospital came under mortar and gunfire on the morning of July 16, rendering the emergency department out of service. Later that evening, government forces stormed the hospital, triggering clashes inside and around the facility before withdrawing.

According to Qandilft, the hospital was sheltering wounded and deceased civilians and fighters from local factions in Suwayda, in addition to Ministry of Defense personnel.

Media activist Qutaiba Azzam told Enab Baladi the hospital contained more than 100 bodies—including children, women, and elderly men—most of them unidentified due to the extent of abuse suffered. He added that bullet marks remained on the hospital walls from the clashes between local factions and Ministry of Defense forces.

Enab Baladi reviewed photos taken on July 22 from inside the hospital, showing the bodies of women, children, and young men, days after the end of military operations in Suwayda. Neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Ministry of Interior had commented on the incident at the time of publication.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the mid-July violence in Suwayda left at least 1,013 people dead. Those involved included local factions, government forces, tribal fighters, and Bedouin groups, with Israeli intervention targeting government forces.

What Happened in Suwayda

The province witnessed mutual violations between the Syrian government, Bedouin tribal fighters, and local factions. The escalation began on July 12 with a series of kidnappings between local factions and residents of al-Muqous neighborhood—home to a Bedouin majority.

Tensions spiraled into armed clashes, prompting government intervention. Government forces later withdrew after Israel targeted their positions in Suwayda and Damascus. This was followed by retaliatory abuses by local factions against Bedouin communities, angering tribal circles, which dispatched reinforcements to Suwayda.

The situation has since moved toward de-escalation after a ceasefire agreement was reached, but the province continues to face dire humanitarian conditions. Some local circles accuse the government of imposing both a military and humanitarian siege, a claim the authorities deny, insisting that aid deliveries are possible.