Mass grave discovery near Damascus raises questions of accountability
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – A U.S.-based Syrian human rights organization announced on Tuesday the discovery of a mass grave containing at least 100,000 bodies near the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The victims were allegedly killed by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, now ousted, said Muaz Mustafa, head of Syrian Emergency Task Force.
In a telephone call with Reuters, Mustafa added that the mass grave is located in al-Qutayfah, approximately 40 kilometers north of Damascus, saying this grave is one of five mass graves identified over the years.
The organization claims that the Syrian Air Force Intelligence branch was responsible for transporting the bodies.
Victims were allegedly tortured to death at various intelligence branches before their remains were moved from military hospitals to the mass grave site.
While Reuters was unable to independently verify these allegations, the claims point to a potential humanitarian tragedy of staggering proportions.
Mustafa described the figure of 100,000 as “the unfairly conservative estimate” for the number of bodies buried at the site.
He further revealed that, alongside Syrian victims, the grave is believed to contain the remains of American, British, and other foreign nationals.