Damascus, Syria – The grisly discovery of mass graves in rural Damascus has once again exposed the horrific legacy of Bashar Assad’s rule. The charred remains of at least 26 victims were unearthed on Tuesday by Syrian civil defence workers, adding to the growing tally of atrocities linked to the Assad regime’s brutal grip on power.
The latest find—spanning two separate basements in the town of Sbeneh, southwest of Damascus—is just one of many sites where executions, torture, and mass killings were carried out during Syria’s 13-year civil war. The remains, believed to include men, women, and children, showed clear signs of gunshot wounds and burning.
A catalogue of atrocities
The White Helmets, a volunteer civil defence group, have been working tirelessly to uncover the fate of Syria’s missing. Wearing protective hazmat suits, their teams meticulously exhumed the skeletal remains, carefully logging and coding each one before placing them into body bags for forensic examination.
According to Abed Al-Rahman Mawwas, a member of the White Helmets, the scale of the horror is staggering.
“Since November 28, we have uncovered more than 780 bodies, most of unknown identity,” he told the Associated Press. “Many were found in shallow graves, uncovered by locals or even dug up by animals.”
The bodies are transferred to forensic specialists, who work to determine identities, time of death, and causes of death, with the hope of matching them to grieving families.
“Of course, this takes years of work,” Mawwas added.
‘We knew the regime did this’
For survivors and witnesses, these mass graves are grim reminders of the terror inflicted by the Assad government.
Mohammad Al-Herafe, a local resident, recalled the overwhelming stench of decomposing bodies when his family returned to Sbeneh in 2016, years after they fled during the war.
“We found the bodies in the basement,” he said. “But we could not report it out of fear of government reprisals. We knew the regime did this.”
Another resident, Mohammad Shebat, shared a similar story. Having left Sbeneh in 2012, he returned in 2020 only to find bodies in the basement of his old building.
“We demanded their removal, but no one cooperated,” he said.
He believes the victims were civilians who fled the nearby Al-Assali neighbourhood when fighting escalated and the Assad government imposed a siege in 2013.
“The regime used to trap people in basements, burn them with tyres, and leave their bodies,” he said. “There are several basements like this, full of skeletons.”
The united nations report: Evidence of war crimes
The United Nations Syria Commission of Inquiry, in a report released on Monday, stated that mass graves may serve as critical evidence in uncovering the fate of thousands of missing detainees.
The 14-year investigation, which gathered over 2,000 witness testimonies, including 550 survivors of torture, exposed the systematic brutality inflicted on prisoners in Syria’s notorious detention centres.
The report detailed the appalling conditions inside these prisons:
- Detainees suffering from torture injuries, malnutrition, disease, and illness, left to die slowly and in agony.
- Others were executed without trial, their bodies discarded in mass graves.
- Methods of torture included beatings, electric shocks, burning, pulling out nails, rape, and sexual mutilation.
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A nation searching for the missing
Since Assad’s fall from power on December 8, families across Syria have been scouring prisons and morgues, desperate for answers about missing loved ones.
While many detainees were freed after years of imprisonment, thousands remain unaccounted for, their fates unknown.
“For Syrians who did not find their loved ones among the freed, this evidence, alongside testimonies of survivors, may be their best hope to uncover the truth,” said Commissioner Lynn Welchman.
The UN has emphasised the urgent need for forensic exhumations, evidence preservation, and documentation of war crimes, so that families may finally learn the truth about their lost relatives.
The path to justice
With Syria’s new leadership, pressure is mounting for full accountability for crimes committed under Assad’s rule. Human rights groups and international bodies are calling for the exhumation of all mass graves, the identification of victims, and the prosecution of those responsible.
As Syria emerges from decades of dictatorship, the wounds of its past remain unhealed. These mass graves serve as a chilling testament to a regime built on violence, repression, and terror—a legacy that cannot be buried.
