The hospital staff look terrified in the surveillance footage obtained and published by Sky News. As soon as the armed men enter the hospital, they fall to their knees with their hands raised in the air.
The hospital staff testify that the men identified themselves as government forces.
In al-Suwayda (Sweida), mostly Druze people live, an ethnic group that is a minority in Syria. In July, bloody clashes broke out between Druze and Bedouin in the city.
Shoots three times
Government forces were deployed to quell the clashes – but the images from the hospital suggest that soldiers loyal to the new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's regime contributed to the attacks on the Druze.
The hospital footage, taken in mid-July when the fighting was at its worst, shows how a volunteer employee gets into some kind of dispute with one of the uniformed men. A soldier shoots him twice. He falls to the floor before a second soldier shoots him a third time.
They said that if we told about the shooting or showed any video clip, we would also be killed. I thought I was going to die, says a nurse who wants to remain anonymous to Sky News.
"Terrorists"
More hospital staff and patients testify to the same thing. In one video clip, a soldier is seen trying to smash a surveillance camera with his rifle. In another, a tank belonging to the Syrian army is seen outside the hospital.
They said they belonged to Syria's new army and police. It is not possible to have peace with these people. They are terrorists, says doctor Obeida Abu Fakher to the media company.
The Syrian government has stated in a statement that it condemns the incident and will investigate it, and that those involved will be held accountable.
The violence in July ended with the Druze forces regaining control. After several Israeli air strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and al-Sharaa also agreed on a ceasefire. However, new deadly clashes have erupted again since then, and the situation is described as tense.
The Druze are an ethnic group that makes up about three percent of the Syrian population, around half a million people. Their religion is originally a branch of Shia Islam, but they practice a special form of the religion.
The Druze have long had an uncertain position in Syria. During the civil war, the ethnic group had its own militia, partly to defend itself against Muslim fundamentalists who considered them heretics.
The Bedouin are nomadic Sunni Muslim ethnic groups that have historically made a living from livestock farming. They belong to different tribes, which in turn consist of clans.
In July, bloody clashes broke out in al-Suwayda (Sweida) in southern Syria, when armed Bedouin kidnapped a Druze vegetable seller.
Government forces were deployed and took control of several Druze villages. Residents testify to murder, looting, and burned-down houses.
Over 1,400 people are said to have been killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR).
At the same time, neighboring Israel, which portrays itself as the protector of the Druze due to its own Druze minority, has entered the conflict. Israel has carried out air strikes against both al-Suwayda and the capital Damascus.
