The so-called Islamic State militant group has ordered the closure of clinics staffed by male gynaecologists in its northern Syrian stronghold of al-Raqqa, a monitoring group reported on Thursday.
Women may only be treated by gynaecologists working at hospitals in 'the state of al-Raaqa', IS has decreed, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The IS 'edict' has riled residents in the area, where female doctors are scarce, the Observatory cited local witnesses as saying.
IS has issued a similar decree in areas of the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor which are under its control, the Observatory reported on Wednesday.
The watchdog, which monitors Syria's civil war relies for its information on a network of activists and doctors inside the country.
