The Syrian Interior Ministry announced Monday it will investigate shocking footage showing uniformed men executing an unarmed civilian inside Sweida National Hospital, in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida.
The incident, captured on CCTV and verified by Reuters and eyewitnesses, has sparked outrage amid ongoing sectarian violence in the region.
In a written statement quoted by Reuters, the ministry said it had reviewed the “disturbing video” and “condemns and denounces this act in the strongest terms.”
It added that the deputy minister for security affairs has been tasked to “directly supervise the investigation to ensure the perpetrators are identified and arrested as quickly as possible.”
The footage, dated July 16 at 3:16 p.m., shows five armed men - four in green military fatigues and one in a black uniform marked “Interior Ministry” - confronting a group of hospital staff in scrubs. One man in scrubs, later identified as civil engineer Muhammad Bahsas, is seen resisting attempts to force him to sit. After briefly grappling with one of the attackers, Bahsas is shot twice while on the floor—once with a rifle and again with a pistol. The assailants then drag his body away, leaving a trail of blood across the hospital floor.
A senior doctor in the hospital’s orthopaedic department, who witnessed the incident and spoke anonymously out of fear of reprisals, confirmed Bahsas had come to the hospital to volunteer. The doctor said the security forces stormed the facility on July 16 and remained overnight, confining staff to their rooms and searching for weapons.
The Syrian Defense Ministry has not responded to inquiries about the incident.
The footage is the latest in a series of execution-style killings reported in Sweida, where clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters left over 1,000 dead.
Syrian armed forces were deployed to Sweida on July 15 to quell the violence, but eyewitnesses say the situation deteriorated further following their arrival.
The Syrian army eventually withdrew from Sweida after Israeli airstrikes and intense diplomatic pressure.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa later delivered a televised speech in which he accused Israel of attempting to undermine Syria’s internal stability.