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| 'They shot patients in beds' – BBC hears claims of massacre at Suweida hospital | 'They shot patients in beds' – BBC hears claims of massacre at Suweida hospital |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The outbreak of violence in southern Syria's Druze-majority Suweida province has caused alarm in recent days | The outbreak of violence in southern Syria's Druze-majority Suweida province has caused alarm in recent days |
| Syrian government forces have been accused of carrying out a massacre at a hospital during sectarian clashes which erupted just over a week ago. | Syrian government forces have been accused of carrying out a massacre at a hospital during sectarian clashes which erupted just over a week ago. |
| The BBC has visited Suweida's National Hospital, where staff claim patients were killed inside wards. | |
| Warning: This story contains descriptions of violence | Warning: This story contains descriptions of violence |
| The stench hit me before anything else. | The stench hit me before anything else. |
| In the car park of the main hospital in Suweida city, dozens of decomposing corpses are lined up in white plastic body bags. | |
| Some are open to the elements, revealing bloated and mutilated remains of those who were killed here. | Some are open to the elements, revealing bloated and mutilated remains of those who were killed here. |
| The tarmac beneath my feet is greasy and slippery with blood. | The tarmac beneath my feet is greasy and slippery with blood. |
| In the sweltering sun, the smell is overwhelming. | In the sweltering sun, the smell is overwhelming. |
| "It was a massacre," Dr Wissam Massoud, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, tells me. | |
| "The soldiers came here saying they wanted to bring peace, but they killed scores of patients, from the very young to the very old." | |
| Earlier this week, Dr Massoud sent me a video which he said was in the immediate aftermath of the government raid. | Earlier this week, Dr Massoud sent me a video which he said was in the immediate aftermath of the government raid. |
| In it, a woman shows you around the hospital. On the ground in the wards are dozens of dead patients still bundled up in their bloodied bed sheets. | In it, a woman shows you around the hospital. On the ground in the wards are dozens of dead patients still bundled up in their bloodied bed sheets. |
| Hospital volunteer Kiness Abu Motab said the victims' were killed because they were in a minority group | Hospital volunteer Kiness Abu Motab said the victims' were killed because they were in a minority group |
| Everyone here, doctors, nurses, volunteers say the same thing. | Everyone here, doctors, nurses, volunteers say the same thing. |
| That last Wednesday evening, it was Syrian government troops targeting the Druze religious community who came to the hospital and carried out the killings. | |
| Kiness Abu Motab, a volunteer at the hospital, said of the victims: "What is their crime? Just for being a minority in a democratic country?" | Kiness Abu Motab, a volunteer at the hospital, said of the victims: "What is their crime? Just for being a minority in a democratic country?" |
| "They are criminals. They are monsters. We don't trust them at all," Osama Malak an English teacher in the city told me outside the hospital gates. | "They are criminals. They are monsters. We don't trust them at all," Osama Malak an English teacher in the city told me outside the hospital gates. |
| "They shot an eight-year-old disabled boy in the head," he said. | "They shot an eight-year-old disabled boy in the head," he said. |
| "According to international law, hospitals should be protected. But they attacked us even in the hospitals. | "According to international law, hospitals should be protected. But they attacked us even in the hospitals. |
| "They entered the hospital. They started shooting everybody. They shot the patients in their beds as they slept." | "They entered the hospital. They started shooting everybody. They shot the patients in their beds as they slept." |
| All sides in this conflict have been accusing each other of committing atrocities. | All sides in this conflict have been accusing each other of committing atrocities. |
| Both Bedouin and Druze fighters as well as the Syrian army have been accused of killing civilians and extra judicial killings. | |
| There is not yet a clear picture of what happened at the hospital. Some here estimate the number of people to be killed last Wednesday at more than 300 but that figure cannot be verified. | There is not yet a clear picture of what happened at the hospital. Some here estimate the number of people to be killed last Wednesday at more than 300 but that figure cannot be verified. |
| On Tuesday night the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement that it was aware of reports of "shocking violations" by people wearing military fatigues in the country's predominantly Druze city of Suweida. | |
| Earlier this week, Raed Saleh, the Syrian Minister for Disaster Management and Emergency Response, told me that any allegations of atrocities committed by all sides would be fully investigated. | |
| Who are the Druze and why did Israel attack Syria? | Who are the Druze and why did Israel attack Syria? |
| Bedouins tell BBC they could return to fighting Druze in Syria | Bedouins tell BBC they could return to fighting Druze in Syria |
| BBC sees fragile ceasefire holding in Syria's battle-scarred Suweida province | BBC sees fragile ceasefire holding in Syria's battle-scarred Suweida province |
| Access to Suweida city has been heavily restricted, meaning gathering first hand evidence has been difficult. | Access to Suweida city has been heavily restricted, meaning gathering first hand evidence has been difficult. |
| The city is in effect under siege, with Syrian government forces restricting who is allowed in and out. | The city is in effect under siege, with Syrian government forces restricting who is allowed in and out. |
| To get in, we had to pass through numerous checkpoints. | To get in, we had to pass through numerous checkpoints. |
| As we entered the city, we passed burned out shops and buildings, and cars that had been crushed by tanks. | As we entered the city, we passed burned out shops and buildings, and cars that had been crushed by tanks. |
| Suweida city had clearly seen a serious battle between Druze and Bedouin fighters. | |
| It was at that point that the Syrian government first intervened to try and enforce a ceasefire. | It was at that point that the Syrian government first intervened to try and enforce a ceasefire. |
| Watch: BBC report from last checkpoint before Suweida city | Watch: BBC report from last checkpoint before Suweida city |
| Although numerous Druze villages in Suweida province have been recaptured by government forces, the city, home to more than 70,000 people, remains under full Druze control. | Although numerous Druze villages in Suweida province have been recaptured by government forces, the city, home to more than 70,000 people, remains under full Druze control. |
| Before we left the hospital, we found eight-year-old Hala al-Khatib sitting on a bench with her aunt. | |
| Hala's face is bloodied and bandaged. She appears to have lost an eye. | Hala's face is bloodied and bandaged. She appears to have lost an eye. |
| She tells us that gunmen came and shot her in the head at she was hiding in a cupboard in her home. | She tells us that gunmen came and shot her in the head at she was hiding in a cupboard in her home. |
| Hala doesn't know it yet, but both her parents are dead. | Hala doesn't know it yet, but both her parents are dead. |