On July 16, 2025, the city of Suwayda and its people were subjected to a violent attack by mercenaries affiliated with the Damascus Government who carried out a brutal massacre against the people of the southern Syrian city. They targeted everyone they saw in the streets and homes, carrying out dozens of massacres against the local people and killing hundreds.
Mercenaries continuing their relentless attacks and massacres in Suwayda also targeted the Al-Watani (National) Hospital in Suwayda. Mercenaries affiliated with the Damascus government first bombed the hospital with heavy weapons and artillery, then rained bullets on everyone inside the hospital.
A doctor from Al-Watani Hospital told ANF that the first attack that day was directed at the ambulance department. While looting and pillaging accompanied the massacre, the cell phones of all nurses and staff at the hospital were confiscated and all technical equipment related to healthcare was broken and rendered unusable.
A nurse who spoke to ANF stated that these forces entered the city without showing any tolerance for the people’s resistance, with their brutal onslaught resulting in countless civilian bodies in the streets.
“On July 16, mercenaries affiliated with the Damascus government attacked the city. The crimes they committed here are incompatible with human dignity. They killed everyone who stood in their way that day; they shot the sick, the wounded, and all the medical staff working in the hospital. This hospital was a place that served humanity; however, they turned it into a place of blood and death.”
Recalling the ceasefire agreement, the nurse continued: “These attacks have caused severe destruction in the city. Today, daily life in Suwayda has come to a standstill. Even the internet connection has been cut off. Some news reports say that a ceasefire has been declared, but there is no sign of this. The wounded are still being brought to hospitals. These forces entered the city under the pretext of protecting the people, but did they really want to protect us and our city? Those who carried out these attacks cannot possibly be Syrians. Our people have been massacred, our dead have been mocked, our children’s blood has been spilled before our eyes, and women have been raped.”
The nurse pointed out that the people of Suwayda were only trying to defend themselves, adding: “The bodies were scattered in the streets, and ambulances couldn’t even reach the martyrs because of the continued attacks. But our people have been resisting these mercenaries for days. We are collecting both the bodies of our martyrs and those of the mercenaries. We are acting in a humane and moral manner. Our youth and people took up arms to resist these mercenaries. However, this was done solely for self-defense. We did not go outside our region to attack anyone.”
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