Mass Grave with 100,000 Bodies Found Near Syria’s Capital

A mass grave potentially containing the remains of about 100,000 people has been discovered near Syria’s capital, Damascus, following the collapse of the decades-long rule of the al-Assad family. The site, located in al-Qutayfah, 40km north of Damascus, is one of several mass graves uncovered across the country.  

Authorities also found 12 mass graves in southern Syria. At one site, 22 bodies, including women and children, were discovered, showing signs of execution and torture. The new interim government has vowed to hold those responsible for atrocities committed under former President Bashar al-Assad accountable.  

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Al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria until his death in 2000, have long faced accusations of carrying out mass killings, including extrajudicial executions and abuses within Syria’s notorious prison system.  

Ugur Umit Ungor, a professor of genocide studies at the University of Amsterdam, described the discovery of the “centralised mass grave” in al-Qutayfah as “a reflection of the killing machine of the Assad regime.”