A Syrian advocacy leader has alleged that a mass grave near Damascus contains the remains of at least 100,000 people killed under the former government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
Mouaz Moustafa, head of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force, revealed the site’s existence at al-Qutayfah, 40 kilometers north of Damascus, in an interview with Reuters.
Moustafa described the figure as a “very conservative estimate” and claimed the site is one of five mass graves his group has identified over the years.
The mass grave allegedly holds the bodies of Syrians alongside foreign victims, including US and British citizens. According to Moustafa, Assad’s intelligence services were responsible for transferring bodies from military hospitals—where detainees reportedly died under torture—to burial sites.
Bulldozer drivers and municipal workers, some of whom later escaped Syria, detailed how bodies were compacted into the graves before being buried.
Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia as rebels seized control of the country, has consistently denied allegations of human rights abuses, dismissing critics as extremists.
The discovery highlights the human cost of Syria’s conflict, which began in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on protests that escalated into civil war. Hundreds of thousands are believed to have been killed over Assad’s decades-long rule.
Meanwhile, the country remains in turmoil. The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria has called for urgent protection of civilians amid worsening violence. Elsewhere, violence persists. Israeli forces have advanced beyond their disengagement zone in the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes.
The Muslim World League (MWL) has condemned the Israeli government’s decision to double the population of the annexed Golan Heights, Arab News reported today. In a statement, the MWL urged the international community to take action against what it described as ongoing Israeli violations that undermine the prospects for security and stability for the Syrian people.
