Syria’s Defence Ministry has accused “outlaw armed groups” of occupying the main hospital in the southern Sweida province and using it as a base to target army forces.
In a statement on Wednesday carried by the state news agency SANA, the ministry said the groups had stationed snipers on the hospital’s rooftops to launch attacks on the Syrian army and security forces.
“These outlaw groups are using the national hospital in Sweida as a launch point for their operations,” the statement said, adding that a significant number of snipers were targeting security forces heavily from the hospital complex.
The ministry said it had repeatedly called for the hospital and its surrounding area to be neutralised and for medical and emergency teams to be allowed access, but had received no response.
It held the armed groups and their backers “fully responsible for what is happening at the national hospital in Sweida.”
The accusation came despite the announcement of a full ceasefire in Sweida on Tuesday evening after army and security forces entered the city centre to restore stability.
On Sunday, clashes erupted between armed Druze militias and Bedouin groups in Sweida after both sides reportedly seized vehicles from each other, local sources said.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said that more than 30 people have been killed and nearly 100 others injured in the violence.
The Israeli army claims the military actions are meant to protect the Druze minority.
