Evgenia Sokolenko13:38, 17.12.24

Among the dead, in addition to Syrians, are citizens of the United States, Great Britain, and other countries.

Human rights activists have discovered a mass grave near the Syrian capital , Damascus, containing the bodies of at least 100,000 people killed during the rule of dictator Bashar al-Assad.

According to  Reuters , this is one of five such burials. The head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, Muaz Mustafa, told the publication about this.

According to the human rights activist, the information about these burials is based on the testimonies of workers who were able to escape the country.

“100,000 is the most conservative estimate of the number of bodies buried at this site. It’s a very, very conservative estimate,” Mustafa said.

He believes the number of mass graves in Syria could be much higher than five. Among the dead, in addition to Syrians, are citizens of the United States, Great Britain and other countries.

According to him, the Syrian Air Force’s intelligence department was responsible for transporting the bodies. They were first taken to military hospitals, where they were tortured to death, and then transferred to various intelligence units. The bodies were then taken to mass graves.

Mustafa said the Damascus Municipal Funeral Home was used for the burials, with its staff helping to unload the bodies from refrigerated trucks. 

Human rights activists spoke to drivers and bulldozer operators who were forced to dig mass graves. Mustafa said the workers were often ordered to compact the bodies so they would fit into the graves and then cover them with soil.

The human rights activist is concerned that these burial sites remain unprotected. Mustava stressed the need to preserve them in order to preserve evidence for future investigations.

(c)UNIAN 2024