A new mass grave was discovered in Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, containing the remains of bodies believed to be civilians killed by the regime of ousted leader Bashar Al-Assad.
Following the collapse earlier this month of the Baath regime, mass graves are being unearthed as part of search and survey activities across the country. Several video clips circulating on social media allegedly showing “mass graves” in different areas of the country.
The local Daraa 24 news site said a new mass grave was discovered inside a farm on the outskirts of the city of Izraa in the central countryside of Daraa Governorate, which was controlled by a militia affiliated with the Military Security Branch of the deposed regime.
Local sources said residents have exhumed 24 bodies from the grave. Medical and forensic teams are heading to the area to carry out testing in an effort to identify the remains.
According to the site, some of the bodies had been buried for more than ten years.
Anadolu agency reported yesterday that more than 12 mass graves had been discovered in Daraa Governorate.
Another mass grave has recently been discovered in the Al-Hussainia area in Damascus countryside, containing thousands of bodies of former detainees in the Syrian regime’s prisons.
According to unofficial estimates, the cemetery is believed to contain about 75,000 bodies of detainees or people killed by regime forces between 2012-2016.
READ: Mine explosion in Syria’s Hama city kills 6, including 3 children