Mass Grave with Over 100,000 Bodies Discovered Near Damascus

The mass grave in al-Qutayfah reveals victims of extrajudicial executions under the Syrian regime. Allegations against Assad and military reform proposals emerge

A mass grave containing the remains of over 100,000 bodies has been discovered approximately 40 kilometres north of Damascus, in the area of al-Qutayfah. The news was reported by Al Jazeera, citing estimates made by Mouaz Moustafa, head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a U.S.-based non-governmental organisation. This mass grave is one of 12 others recently found in southern Syria. One of these, according to Al Jazeera, contained 22 bodies, including women and children, showing signs of torture and execution.

According to Vall, an expert on the Syrian crisis, “these mass graves hold the secrets of 54 years of tyranny, torture, and dictatorship.” Both Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, who ruled Syria until his death in 2000, are accused of having carried out hundreds of thousands of extrajudicial killings. Ugur Umit Ungor, professor of genocide studies at the University of Amsterdam, told Al Jazeera that the discovery of the “centralised mass grave” in al-Qutayfah is “evidence of Assad’s regime’s machinery of death.”

Meanwhile, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Hts), Mohammed al-Jawlani, has announced plans to dissolve armed groups in Syria and integrate them into the national army. “The fighters are ready to be part of the Ministry of Defence and will be subject to the law,” al-Jawlani said during a meeting with the Druze community. Hts has also issued a statement explaining that al-Jawlani proposed a “social pact” aimed at promoting coexistence among Syria’s diverse ethnic groups and ensuring social justice.

In addition to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allied factions, many other armed groups are active in Syria, including Kurdish militias and Turkey-backed forces, which continue to clash in northern Syria. “We need the mentality of the state, not the mentality of the opposition,” al-Jawlani declared.

However, international figures remain sceptical of al-Jawlani’s intentions. Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, described al-Jawlani as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” During a press conference, Haskel showed images of the Hts leader, who claims to have renounced al-Qaeda and ISIS, reverting to his birth name Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“It is important not to fall for the rebranding attempts of jihadist groups in Syria,” Haskel said. “We know who they are, we know their true nature, even if they change their names, and we know how dangerous they are to the West.” “These are still terrorist organisations, and he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” she added.

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