A HORRIFIC massacre has been documented by video inside the National Hospital in Suwayda, Syria, following its storming by members of the Syrian Ministry of Defense and “general security forces”.
The minority Druze population concentrated in Suwayda, south-east of Damascus, say the security forces are affiliated with a “de facto terrorist authority” led by Sunni Islamic militants wearing ISIS insignia.
The video, posted on Telegram, shows dozens of bodies of Druze civilians, including medical staff and patients, who were executed on the spot inside hospital wards after a direct assault using grenades and automatic weapons.
“The footage confirms the ongoing crimes against unarmed civilians inside medical facilities, and supports earlier eyewitness testimonies previously reported about the massacre,” a post on Telegram stated.
A video posted by a young man named Amr Abdullah Al-Baayni showed his final moments via his phone, pleading to the world for help, as the militants from the Syrian Ministry of Defense and “General Security” under the de facto terrorist authority stormed their home with grenades and gunfire.
After setting the house on fire, Amr and his father fled to a nearby location — only for the attackers to raid that site as well and carry out field executions against those who had taken refuge.
“Amr’s recorded testimony stands as clear evidence of a genocidal crime, in blatant violation of all humanitarian norms and international law,” his Druze community posted.
Military police forces affiliated with the Ministry of Defense under the de facto authority are humiliating civilians in AsSuwayda by forcibly shaving or cutting off their mustaches, including the injured.
The violations extend beyond the living, as they also desecrate the bodies of Druze martyrs by mutilating them and cutting off their mustaches.
One video showed one of the militants laughing while rubbing his boot over the face of a dead Druze man. Another video showed one of the militants ripping the moustache of a Druze man by hand.
These acts constitute war crimes and gross violations of human rights and human dignity, the Druze supporters said.
Meanwhile the atrocities appear to have been “missed” by CNN and other global media who are reporting that dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between “government loyalists” and Druze militias in Suwayda, “prompting Syrian forces to intervene”.
“That, in turn, triggered renewed Israeli airstrikes, as Israel – citing a commitment to protect the Druze – expands its footprint in southern Syria,” CNN reported.
“Syria’s military entered Suwayda, a stronghold for the Druze community in the country’s south, on Tuesday after clashes broke out over the weekend between Druze forces and Bedouin tribes, reigniting fears of attacks against minorities,” CNN said.
There was no mention of the hospital massacre. CNN and other media, who trumpeted the overthrow of “regime dictator Assad”, are now referring to the attacks on Suwayda as being carried out by “Islamist forces allied with the Syrian government”.
In 2016 a Virginia state senator Richard Black told Executive Intelligence Review that the Assad government was one of the success stories among the Arab states but “had to be taken down” by the Anglo-US-French alliance.
Israel has apparently vowed to protect the Druze by running bombing raids against the Syrian Ministry of Defence in Damascus and other sites, although some suggest this is merely a strategic power play.
CNN reported that Syria’s “new leader” Ahmed al-Sharaa, following discussions including the US, agreed to withdraw troops and announced a new ceasefire with Druze militia. He said on Thursday his country it had faced a choice between “open war” with Israel, or allowing Druze clerics “to return to reason and prioritize the national interest.”
The Druze are an Arab Islamic sect of roughly one million people who primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In southern Syria the Druze are a majority in the Suwayda province.
Originating in Egypt in the 11th century, the group practices an offshoot of Islam which permits no converts – either to or from the religion – and no intermarriage.
