By Ahmad Aljaber
Since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime last December, barely a week has passed without the discovery of new mass graves across the country. These findings expose the scale of the regime’s crimes and human rights violations during the war years. According to experts, the graves are not confined to specific locations but are scattered throughout parks, abandoned residential buildings, streets and even military installations, pointing to a systematic effort to hide victims and erase evidence.
Consecutive Discoveries in Daraa and Damascus
The latest discovery of mass graves containing dozens of bodies was made in a military site in Daraa southern Syria, as well as in the southern suburbs of Damascus. These findings are expected to shed light on the fate of thousands of missing Syrian persons and further expose the brutality of the Assad regime implemented throughout years of conflict.
A human rights report released last Friday by the Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability revealed that more than 1.000 Syrians who died while detained at a military airport on the outskirts of Damascus, were executed, or died as a result of torture and mistreatment. The report, based on eyewitness testimonies, satellite imagery, and video documentation from the Mezzah Military Airport in Damascus following the regime’s fall.
While there is no accurate statistic of the number of mass graves uncovered, estimates suggest the existence of dozens of sites holding thousands of bodies. Legal experts argue that this evidence is sufficient to prosecute Bashar al-Assad and his associates, however, the greatest challenge now lies in properly handling these graves to ensure the truth is revealed and justice is served.
Read more: فوضى السلاح تحصد أرواح الأبرياء في درعا جنوبي سوريا
Crime Scene in Need of Protection
Mass graves serve as grim evidence of the Syrian regime’s crimes, believed to contain tens of thousands of bodies, not only in Damascus but across all Syrian cities. The Syrian Civil Defence (White Helmets) has warned against tampering with these sites, stressing that unprofessional interventions not only violate the dignity of victims and their families’ rights but also compromise critical forensic evidence necessary to uncover the fate of missing persons and hold perpetrators accountable.
In a statement to +963, Ezzedine Saleh, Executive Director of the Synergy Victims’ Association, underscored the significance of these graves as vital sources of information. He stressed that proper handling plays a crucial role in determining the fate of missing persons and facilitating the return of their remains to their parents. Saleh also warned that any irregular tampering or exhumation could lead to distortion of forensic evidence, obstructing the path to truth and justice.
As part of the Truth and Justice Charter, Synergy and the families of the victims have urged the new Syrian Government and relevant stakeholders to assign qualified teams to protect mass graves. They called for strict regulations to prevent access by any entity, including the families of the missing, without official supervision. Additionally, they emphasized the need for cooperation with the Independent Missing Persons Foundation, the international body charged with clarifying the fate of all missing persons in Syria.
Read more: ”داعش” يطلّ برأسه.. هل يستغل الأوضاع في سوريا لترتيب صفوفه؟
A Complex Process Requiring Scientific Experties
Ezzdine Saleh asserted that the process of exhumation of mass graves must be carried out with systematic implementation by professional specialists to ensure accurate findings. The process involves multiple stages, including research, verification and forensic analysis, and requires the participation of the missing persons’ families as holders of the right and primary source of information.
Fazal Abdelghani, Director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), explained that the treatment of mass graves demands careful procedures, including documentation of sites, respect for victims’ dignity, collection of forensic evidence and identification of bodies. These actions are necessary to ensure justice and accountability for perpetrators.
In statements to +963, Abdelghani stressed the importance of protecting these sites as crime scenes, warning that any tampering could lead to the loss of critical evidence against perpetrators of massacres. He also noted the need to secure these sites, restricting media access, and relying only on aerial photography to prevent alteration or contamination of evidence.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), through its head of mission in Syria, Stefan Sakalyan, confirmed that identifying victims could take years. The ICRC is working to educate the public on the risk of unauthorized exhumations and is actively engaging with the families of the missing persons and civil society organizations to gather accurate information on the graves’ locations.
Sakalyan urged the new Syrian authorities to safeguard the mass grave sites and preserve relevant records. He also noted the importance of training forensic specialists and developing comprehensive coordination mechanisms to allow international organizations to participate in this huge task.
Alarming Numbers
Since the start of the conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in cooperation with the Red Crescent Societies, has recorded 35,000 casualties in Syria, with estimates suggesting that the real number may be much higher. Moreover, the Hague International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) received data indicating the existence of 66 possible mass grave sites, with more than 150.000 reported missing.
The situation in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime reveals a humanitarian catastrophe that requires an urgent and orderly response. Protecting mass graves, documenting evidence, and identifying victims are not merely legal proceedings, they are essential steps to achieve justice and end the suffering of thousands of families still searching for their missing loved ones. International and domestic efforts must be complementary to ensure that the truth is revealed and those responsible for these brutal crimes are held accountable.
