A/HRC/25/65 wounded persons attempting to approach the hospital entrance. Security forces also continued to occupy the hospital until that date, ensuring only Government soldiers or civilians from Government-controlled areas of Dara’a received care. In late May 2013, antiGovernment armed groups attacked the National Hospital in Dara’a. 17. As Government forces withdrew from Jasem in February 2012, Military Security retained control of Amal Hospital until 28 April 2013. At least three tanks were stationed in its courtyard, yet the hospital remained operational. 18. In Homs, Government forces conducted hostilities from several hospitals. In April 2012, Government forces established two military checkpoints at the perimeter of Al Rastan hospital. Following attacks by opposition fighters, Government forces occupied the hospital, positioning military personnel, snipers and tanks within the hospital grounds. By October 2012, the sick and wounded could not approach the hospital for fear of being fired upon, stating, “the hospital has become a military base.” Since at least December 2011, Government armed forces have been positioned inside the National Hospital in Al Qusayr, Homs Governorate. In 2012, wounded and sick persons seeking medical care were hit by sniper fire from the hospital. Passersby and nearby residents were also targeted. As the Government began its Al Qusayr operation in May 2013, it positioned tanks and heavy artillery within the hospital. Snipers, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and heavy artillery were also placed around and inside Abdul Qadir Al Shaqfa Military Hospital in Al Waer, Homs. According to former hospital staff, the hospital was used to launch attacks on Al Waer and Jurat Al Shayyah neighbourhoods in May 2013. 19. Accounts from June 2012 describe the occupation of the National Hospital in Al Haffe, Latakia by soldiers and military personnel. Snipers positioned on the hospital roof targeted all those approaching the hospital, preventing access to medical treatment. 20. In September 2012, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigade in Mo Hassan, Dayr az Zawr, established a compound in an elementary school, exposing the field hospital located in the adjacent high school to attack. On 9 September and 29 September, the schools were targeted by airstrikes from fighter jets, causing significant damage to the field hospital. During the FSA offensive on Helfaya, Hama, around 18-20 December 2012, another FSA brigade attacked checkpoints surrounding the National Hospital, gaining control of the hospital. The National Hospital had been used as a base by Government forces. IV. Targeting of medical personnel and transport 21. One of the most insidious trends of the armed violence in Syria has been the targeting of healthcare personnel. Ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors and medical volunteers have been attacked, arrested, unlawfully detained, and disappeared. Antiterrorism laws issued on 2 July 2012 effectively criminalised medical aid to the opposition. Laws 19, 20 and 21 contravene the customary international humanitarian law rule that under no circumstances shall any person be punished for carrying out medical activities compatible with medical ethics, regardless of the person benefiting therefrom. 22. From April to June 2011, Government forces carried out a wave of arrests against medical professionals in Damascus. In April, five doctors working at Al Fateh Hospital and Al Mowasah University Hospital were arrested and detained after they refused to comply with Military Intelligence orders to deny treatment to injured protesters. Three doctors were tortured in Air Force Intelligence custody. Security forces arrested and mistreated a pharmacist in Mouadamieh, accused of providing treatment to protesters. In June 2011, two doctors working at the Tishrin Military Hospital were summoned to Military Security Branch 291 in Kafr Sousa, where they were detained, interrogated about their activities in 58