Mass Graves in Syria May Hold Thousands, Group Warns

 Members of Syria's White Helmets civil defense team worked at a mass grave in the Baghdad Bridge area near Damascus on Tuesday, uncovering remains believed to be civilians killed by the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Syrians Begin to Uncover Mass Graves, Exposing Atrocities of Assad’s Regime

Syrians are uncovering mass graves across the country, revealing the scale of atrocities committed during the brutal rule of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad. More than two weeks after Assad fled Syria and his regime collapsed, many families are still searching for answers about the fate of loved ones detained by Assad’s secret police.

Hundreds of thousands of bodies of individuals “tortured to death by the Assad regime” may lie in a mass grave east of Damascus, according to Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the U.S.-based Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), an anti-Assad advocacy group.

After years of working to expose these mass graves, Moustafa told EWN he was finally able to visit suspected sites following Assad’s fall. One alleged mass grave in Qutayfah, a city approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Damascus, is reportedly marked by trenches measuring 6-7 meters (19-23 feet) deep, 3-4 meters wide, and 50-150 meters long, according to SETF.

Gravediggers who worked at the site described a harrowing process. Moustafa recounted being told that “four tractor-trailer trucks, each carrying over 150 bodies, arrived twice a week from 2012 until 2018.” This would equate to hundreds of thousands of victims. Bulldozer operators were allegedly forced by intelligence officers to compress the bodies to fit them into the trenches before new ones were dug.

Recent reports have further underscored the scale of these discoveries. On Monday, more than 20 bodies were found in a mass grave near Izraa in Daraa Governorate, southern Syria. Videos from Agence France-Presse show men digging and retrieving bones, while a bulldozer carefully worked to unearth the remains.

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) estimates that some 150,000 people remain unaccounted for in Syria, most of whom were kidnapped or detained by Assad’s regime or its affiliates. EWN has not been able to independently verify this figure.

Bodies Marked with Numbers

A witness called the Gravedigger testified in a German court about being coerced by the Assad regime to bury hundreds of bodies in mass graves, In 2020. According to ICMP, the witness detailed how trucks delivered 300-700 bodies to sites in Qutayfah and al-Najha multiple times a week. The bodies, many showing signs of torture and mutilation, were identified only by numbers etched onto their chests or foreheads.

Moustafa said SETF has identified at least eight mass grave sites in Syria and called for international experts to assist in exhuming and identifying the remains. Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN’s special envoy to Syria, emphasized the importance of securing documentation related to detention sites and mass graves to support families seeking justice and accountability.

We must prioritize accounting for the missing, ensuring families receive the clarity and recognition they desperately need, Fenton said during a press briefing.

Mourning Amid Victory

For families of the disappeared, the fall of Assad’s regime is bittersweet. Hazem Dakel, originally from Idlib and now living in Sweden, shared the pain of losing two family members. His uncle, Najeeb, was arrested in 2012 and later confirmed dead. His brother, Amer, was detained in 2013 and reportedly tortured to death in Saydnaya Prison in 2015. Despite the regime’s fall, Dakel said on Facebook, We are mourning our children. The regime has fallen, but where are our loved ones?

As Syria begins to rebuild, the discovery of mass graves is a stark reminder of the brutal legacy left by Assad’s rule and the enduring anguish of families searching for closure.