Syrian government vows to ‘hold accountable’ gunmen seen shooting man in Suweida hospital in viral video

The Syrian Ministry of Interior has vowed justice after a video showing the killing of an unarmed man in the Suweida hospital was shared widely on social media. 

According to a statement by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the ministry released a statement saying, “We condemn and denounce this act in the strongest terms, and we affirm that the perpetrators will be held accountable and brought before the judiciary to receive their just punishment, regardless of their affiliations.” 

The video, which began to be widely circulated only in recent days, was apparently filmed earlier in the conflict between Druze residents of Suweida and Sunni Muslim groups, including Bedouin groups and militias affiliated with the government of Ahmad al-Sharaa. 

The Syrian Interior Ministry, said that Deputy Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Maj. Gen. Abdul Qader Al-Tahhan had been assigned to oversee the investigation "to ensure that the perpetrators are identified and arrested as quickly as possible.” 

The Syrian government claims their forces intervened to stop the clashes, which began in early July, but Druze groups, eyewitnesses, and reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said that government forces were involved in the hostilities against the Druze, which in some cases included summary executions, as seen in the video. 

Atrocities began on July 13, with clashes between Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in the area and local Druze fighters. However, the violence rapidly escalated, attracting militias aligned with the HTS-led Syrian government, along with foreign militias, many having ties to Turkish-backed forces. Eventually around 1,600 people were killed during around one week of fighting. 

The Israeli government conducted several airstrikes in support of the local Druze population, warning the government of al-Sharaa that it would act further to protect the Druze, who are related to the Druze community in Israel’s Golan Heights and northern Galilee.  

The local media agency, Suwayda 24, published the video on Sunday, which was also shared by the Observatory, claiming that it came from hospital surveillance cameras. In the video, men in military uniforms can be seen shooting an unarmed man, whom Suwayda 24 identified as an engineer volunteering at the hospital. 

In the video, the deceased man is seen engaging in a brief scuffle with one of the armed men before being wrestled to the ground. As the man he was scuffling with gets up, he takes a weapon and shoots the unarmed man, killing him. Another soldier standing nearby then draws a handgun and shoots the man again.

In its report, SOHR said, “This video is only one example of the violations committed against civilians in Al-Suwaidaa, where SOHR has documented the execution of 401 individuals.” 

Kurdish news agency Rojava Network posted evidence of the government fighters attempting to destroy surveillance cameras in parts of the hospital before carrying out their actions there.

HTS/ISIS terrorists destroying surveillance cameras to hide their war crimes in Suweida National Hospital pic.twitter.com/IoZIo9g1eR

— Rojava Network (@RojavaNetwork) August 10, 2025

SOHR also stated that the gunmen belonged to forces from the Ministries of Defense and Interior. The Observatory called for “the formation of an independent committee including representatives from all concerned parties to follow up the issue of the missing people, disclosure their fate and ensure accountability for those involved in these serious violations.” 

Local Druze residents have accused the government forces, ostensibly there to prevent more hostilities, of imposing a blockade on the city and preventing much of the humanitarian aid from entering. The government denies the charges. 

A Druze volunteer aid worker told United Arab Emirates news site The National that the Druze do not trust the new regime.

“We’ve been semi-autonomous since 2018 when Bashar Al Assad’s regime was in power,” said Kinaan Al Chacha, a volunteer aid worker in Suweida province. “And we’ll stay that way after what happened last month, because now we know this government will never protect us.”

This article originally appeared on ALL ARAB NEWS and is reposted with permission.