Families in Syria’s Qamishli demand answers on fate of forcibly disappeared
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Families of missing and forcibly disappeared persons held on Thursday a solidarity vigil in front of the United Nations headquarters in Qamishli city, northeast Syria, demanding that the fate of their loved ones be revealed.
Participants carried banners calling for justice and urged European states and international human rights organizations to act urgently and assume their humanitarian responsibilities.
“We attended this event today as families of the missing, activists, and human rights defenders,” said Abbas Mousa, coordinator of the Missing Persons’ Families Platform in North and East Syria. “We call for keeping the issue of the missing alive in everyone’s conscience and not letting it fade away.”
Mousa stressed the need to uncover the fate of those forcibly disappeared by all parties to the Syrian conflict and urged greater involvement by international organizations. “We call for revealing the fate of the missing persons from all sides and by all parties in Syria,” he told North Press.
Among the participants was Abdul Karim Othman, whose son, Azad, was detained in 2019 by the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction, led by Abu Hatem Shaqra. He said his family has received no information since his disappearance despite appeals to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian bodies.
“We gathered here today to demand the rights of our children and the disclosure of their fate.” Othman said.
The vigil coincided with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed annually on August 30. The day highlights the plight of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who have been forcibly disappeared, many in conflict zones such as Syria.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, tens of thousands of Syrians have been reported missing or forcibly disappeared by government forces, armed opposition groups, and extremist factions. Human rights groups estimate that over 100,000 people remain unaccounted for, leaving families in uncertainty and despair.
The vigil in Qamishli reflects a growing demand by Syrian families for truth and accountability, as well as for international action to address one of the conflict’s most painful legacies.