DAMASCUS - The Syrian Health Ministry Wednesday dismissed as false a report issued by the Amnesty International condemning what it called torture in state hospitals in two Syrian cities.

The ministry said in a statement obtained by Xinhua that such a report is a "false accusation ... And it is full of fallacies and fabrications."

Amnesty International has condemned what it called torture in state hospitals of unrest-strewn Syria. "The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression in its efforts to crush opposition," according to a 39-page report released late Monday.

Syria's Health Ministry dismissed the report, saying that the performance of medical staff in state hospitals is regulated by laws and decrees and is observed by specialized health parties, while the rights of patients are also preserved.

The statement added that the amnesty's report is aimed at "harming the health sector" of Syria and create a state of distrust in the state hospitals to achieve "tendentious" objectives.

The ministry has not received till now any complaint neither from the patients nor from their relatives about any maltreatment or encroachment, the statement stressed.

The Syrian health sector has suffered heavy losses "due to the attacks of terrorist groups and saboteurs on doctors, medics and ambulances," the statement said, noting that a number of health institutions have been torched and damaged since the eruption of unrest in Syria in mid March, and around 60 ambulances were smashed.

According to the amnesty's report, wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals had been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, both by medical workers and security personnel.