Official statements from the Syrian government or verified media reports.

Syria Discovers Mass Graves with Over 100,000 Bodies, Including American and British Victims

Dec 18, 2024, 12:33 AM

Mass graves have been discovered across Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime earlier this month. On December 16, over 12 mass graves were found in the southern governorate of Daraa, containing bodies believed to be civilians, including women and children, killed by the ousted Assad regime. Additionally, a mass grave near al-Qutayfah, approximately 25 miles northeast of Damascus, is reported to contain the remains of at least 100,000 people, including American and British citizens, who were killed under Assad's rule. Mouaz Moustafa, head of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force, stated that many victims are believed to have been tortured to death. International war crimes prosecutor Stephen Rapp said that evidence emerging from these mass grave sites exposes a state-run "machinery of death" under Assad, comparing the scale of atrocities to those committed by the Nazis. Documents listing executioners were also found in Saydnayah prison. Efforts are underway to exhume the bodies and identify the victims, shedding light on the magnitude of the atrocities committed during Assad's brutal rule.