Responders team for missing persons in Syria’s Raqqa receives technical instructions

Mass grave in Tel Zeidan, east of Raqqa
Mass grave in Tel Zeidan, east of Raqqa

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Following a week-long training in Erbil, north Iraq, with the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), this week, the Raqqa-based First Responders Team re-launched as the Syrian Missing Persons and Forensic Team (SMFT).

“For the first time, the team received technical instructions for forensic archeology and anthropology, and these instructions develop the team’s ability to document and exhume mass graves, as well as accountability for ISIS crimes,” said the Executive Director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center, Muhammad al-Abdullah.   

Even after the defeat of ISIS three years ago, more than 8,000 people are still missing in northeast Syria. The SMFT worked a pivotal role with families, media activists and civil society organizations to document the circumstances of their disappearance and verify their whereabouts.

More than 28 cemeteries have been opened in northeast Syria since its establishment as a relief agency under the Raqqa Civil Council in 2018, and about 6,000 bodies have been recovered, but the lack of sufficient experience and support prevented the team from identifying the majority of the recovered bodies and gathering the evidence required for the accountability process.

In 2019, the Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) launched the Missing Persons Program in Northeast Syria and partnered with EAAF to meet these needs.

The SJAC is a Syrian civil society organization working towards a Syrian state defined by justice, respect for human rights, and rule of law. Its mission is to promote justice and accountability in Syria by ensuring that human rights violations are comprehensively documented, and that documentation data is securely preserved, catalogued, and analyzed to advance transitional justice and peacebuilding.

In mid-October, 40 members of the team went to Erbil for a 6-day intensive training with three experts from EAAF, where the team practiced their skills on mock graves, and it also received training in explosive safety.

“The team has worked, despite the absence of scientific and technical capabilities, on the missing persons issue with the modest means available. Today, our capabilities are greater and we look forward to expanding our work further,” Team leader, Yasser al-Khamis said.