A/HRC/25/65 emergency trauma care unit. Survivors and eyewitnesses believed the hospital was deliberately shelled from a Government military base in Mount Qassioun. The Al Majana private hospital in Ariha, Idlib, was hit by rocket fire on 28 August 2012. The attack damaged the emergency wing. The following day on 29 August, Government and proGovernment forces raided the hospital, destroying equipment, harassing the medical staff and accusing them of providing medical treatment to anti-Government armed group fighters. One doctor present during the attack explained, “If doctors treated opposition fighters, they were considered to be part of the opposition.” Al Saeed private hospital in Al Arfi, Dayr az Zawr treating wounded civilians and fighters alike was repeatedly targeted between 19 July and 26 November by Government forces positioned on the bank of the Euphrates River. It was shelled on five occasions, injuring numerous patients and medical personnel. The hospital closed due to damage suffered. 12. In 2013, hospitals in Dara’a came under concerted attack. Since February, after Government forces withdrew from Jasem, field hospitals inside the town have been repeatedly shelled and aerially bombarded. Doctors and medical volunteers operating the field hospitals have been forced to relocate every few days to avoid being targeted. Since February, field hospitals in Tariq Asad in Dara’a Al Balad have been shelled almost continuously, killing doctors and patients. As such attacks continue, field hospitals have literally been driven underground, forced to operate in the basements of houses. 13. Anti-Government armed groups have also attacked medical facilities. On 14 April 2012, 250 Al Farouk Brigade fighters attacked the National Hospital in Jurat Al Shayyah, as part of a military offensive on Homs city. After several days’ resistance from Government forces, the Al Farouk Brigade took control of the hospital. The Brigade took no precautions to avoid civilian casualties or to protect the sick and wounded during the attack. Government forces responded with aerial bombardment, which largely destroyed the hospital on 17 April. 14. In a recent incident, in late May 2013, anti-Government armed groups attacked the National Hospital in Dara’a, causing considerable damage. A member of the FSA brigade that carried out the attack on the hospital said that his group believed that there were approximately 50 patients in the hospital, and that all were affiliated with the Government. When orders were given to attack the hospital, none of the fighters involved protested that it was a protected object and no warnings were given prior to the attack. III. Endangering hospitals 15. Placing military objectives in hospitals constitutes a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians from the effects of attack. Such acts also contravene the fundamental obligation to respect and protect medical units. Using hospitals, outside their humanitarian function for acts harmful to the enemy, such as sheltering able-bodied combatants, storing arms or ammunition, as military observation posts or shields for military action, leads to a loss of their protection, exposing such hospitals to a risk of attack. This may prevent the impartial provision of medical treatment, endanger patients and medical professionals, and compromise the humanitarian function of medical facilities. Ultimately, this has a grave impact on the fulfillment of the obligation under common article 3 to care for the sick and wounded. Further, failing to respect the emblem of the Geneva Conventions undermines its protective purpose. 16. On 22 March 2011, Government forces entered the National Hospital in Dara’a city, cleared the hospital of non-essential medical staff and positioned snipers on the roof of the hospital overlooking the Omari mosque. The following day, the snipers fired on protesters. Snipers remained stationed on the National Hospital until May 2013, firing on sick and 57