Damascus: The head of a U.S.-based Syrian advocacy group claimed Monday that a mass grave site near Damascus contains the remains of at least 100,000 people, victims of alleged killings under the former government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
As reported by the international news agency Reuters, Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, speaking via telephone from Damascus, said the al-Qutayfah site—located roughly 25 miles (40 km) north of the Syrian capital—was one of five mass grave locations he has identified over the years.
“One hundred thousand is the most conservative estimate of the number of bodies buried at the site,” Moustafa said. “It’s a very, very extremely almost unfairly conservative estimate.”
Moustafa asserted that the graves include not only Syrian victims but also U.S. and British nationals, along with other foreigners. He added that the actual number of grave sites across the country is likely higher.
Reuters further reported that they were unable to independently verify the claims.
A Legacy of Violence
Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011 when a government crackdown on anti-Assad protests escalated into full-scale conflict. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Syrians are estimated to have been killed. The Assad family, including Bashar al-Assad and his late father Hafez al-Assad, has long been accused by human rights organizations and foreign governments of widespread extrajudicial killings, including systemic torture and mass executions within Syria’s notorious prison system.
President Assad has repeatedly denied such allegations, portraying his government’s actions as necessary to combat extremists.
Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak, who assumed his position in January, did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. However, last week, Aldahhak stated he was awaiting instructions from the new authorities and reiterated his intent to “keep defending and working for the Syrian people.”
Accounts of Mass Graves
Moustafa, who returned to Syria following Assad’s ousting and the collapse of his government during a rebel offensive, highlighted disturbing details about the operations behind the mass graves.
He told Reuters and Channel 4 News that the Syrian air force intelligence branch was responsible for transferring bodies from military hospitals, where victims reportedly died after torture, to various intelligence centers. From there, corpses were moved to mass grave sites.
“The Damascus municipal funeral office was also involved, with personnel unloading bodies from refrigerated tractor-trailers,” Moustafa said.
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He added that his organization had gathered testimonies from survivors and workers forced to take part in the burial operations. “We were able to talk to the people who worked on these mass graves—people who escaped Syria on their own or whom we helped to escape,” he explained.
Among those interviewed were bulldozer drivers who described being ordered to dig graves, compact the bodies to fit more into the pits, and then cover them with dirt.
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Calls for Preservation and Accountability
Moustafa voiced urgent concerns about the lack of security at these grave sites, warning that critical evidence could be destroyed or lost without preservation efforts.
“These sites need to be preserved to safeguard evidence for future investigations,” he emphasized.
The revelations add to the long list of alleged human rights violations committed throughout Syria’s brutal conflict, underscoring the need for international accountability and justice.
