Syria Pulling Injured Out of Hospitals

The Syrian government is continuing to snatch patients from hospitals and prevent doctors from helping the wounded, now in the city of Homs, according to Human Rights Watch, which spoke with doctors and other witnesses. The tactic was also reported in Damascus last week, but Wednesday's crackdown in Homs was reportedly one of the most severe in the six months of uprisings, with at least 20 people killed, reports the AP.

"When we tried to help the wounded who needed urgent medical care, the security forces pushed us back, saying these were criminals and rapists," a doctor told the human rights group. "They were beating the wounded as they moved them out of the hospital." Government forces in Bahrain have also reportedly started targeting hospitals to catch protesters. "Snatching wounded people from the operating room is inhumane and illegal, not to mention life-threatening," said a director at Human Rights Watch. "Cutting people off from essential medical care causes grave suffering and perhaps irreparable harm." (More Syria stories.)