Mass graves in Syria reveal “death machines” under Assad, chief prosecutor says By Reuters
Written by Timour Azhari and Anthony Deutsch
QUTAYFAH, Syria (Reuters) – An international war crimes prosecutor said on Tuesday evidence from mass graves in Syria revealed a regime “death machine” under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad in which he estimated more than 100,000 people were killed. they have been tortured and killed since 2013.
Speaking after visiting two mass graves in the towns of Qutayfah and Najha near Damascus, former US war crimes envoy to the region Stephen Rapp told Reuters: “We certainly have more than 100,000 people who disappeared and were tortured to death in this machine.
“I don’t have much doubt about those kinds of numbers given what we’ve seen in these full cemeteries.”
“When you’re talking about this kind of organized killing by the state and its agencies, we haven’t seen anything like it since the Nazis,” said Rapp, who led the prosecution of war crimes tribunals in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
“From the secret police who disappeared people from the streets and their homes, to the prison guards and investigators who starved and tortured them to death, to the truck drivers and tractor drivers who hid their bodies, thousands of people worked in this murderous system,” said Rapp.
Syrian citizens living near a military base where one of the sites and cemeteries used to bury dead bodies in detention centers described seeing a line of refrigerated trucks bringing dead bodies dumped in long ditches dug by tractors.
In Qutayfah, people refused to speak to the cameras or use their names for fear of retribution, saying they are still unsure if the area is safe after the fall of Assad.
“This is a place of horrors,” one said Tuesday.
In a building surrounded by cement walls, three children were playing next to a Russian military vehicle. The ground was flat and level, with long straight marks where the bodies were buried.
Satellite images analyzed by Reuters showed large-scale drilling began at the site between 2012 and 2014 and continued until 2022. Several satellite images taken by Maxar at the time showed the digger and large trenches visible on the site, as well as three or four large ones. trucks.
Omar Hujeirati, a former leader of the anti-Assad protests who lives near the Najha cemetery, said he suspects many of his missing family members may be in the grave.
He believes at least some of those taken, including two sons and four brothers, were arrested for protesting against the Assad government.
“That was my sin, which made them take my family,” he said, a long trench visible behind him where corpses were apparently buried.
He said those involved must be held accountable through a clear court system, otherwise the people will hold themselves accountable.
“We want our rights, according to the Syrian law, not through some backroom procedures. These killings and deaths are unacceptable to anyone with humanity,” he said. “We want reputable organizations to come so that this is not hidden.”
