ROCHELLE JUNIOR

Sweida- During war and conflict, hospitals are among the most sacred and protected places under international humanitarian law. The Geneva Convention defines that medical units shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack in war and conflict. The Rome Status confirms that those responsible must be prosecuted.

These rules were violated in Sweida on July 16, 2025 when the members of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham raided the National Hospital, targeting patients and medical personnel.

“On July 13, I was at the National Hospital and we could not go out of the hospital due to violence and attacks in the city,” said Sama al-Jaghami, a radiology technician at the National Hospital. “On July 16, they entered the hospital and took position in the hospital. We did not know what was happening outside but heard the sounds of artillery fire and fighting. At noon, they raided the emergency department, where our colleagues from radiology, intensive care and emergency services, as well as hospital police officers, had taken shelter. At that moment, moments of terror began.”

The members of the Syrian government forces forced them to kneel down. “They called us ‘infidels and pigs’. Medical volunteer Mohammad Abu Hassas was executed in front of us.”

‘They should not go unpunished’

What happened in Sweida was the violation of human rights, said Taghreed Azzam, a lawyer in Sweida. “The brutal practices documented in videos shot by members of the Ministry of Defense show that they targeted the Druze community, killing civilians after asking them their religion. The videos also show that the injured people were killed and medical personals were threatened,” Taghreed Azzam said, defining the attacks on Sweida as a “genocide”. “Those who responsible for the genocide should not go unpunished.”

 ‘All crimes have been documented, people demand justice’

Taghreed Azzam thinks that the government forces entered Sweida to commit a genocide against the Druze. “The crimes committed by them have been documented. We demand an independent international investigation that those responsible be held accountable by the International Criminal Court. The people of Sweida demand justice.”