Damascus Mass Grave Uncovers 1,000 Victims of Assad
The al-Mazzah Military Airport, where the latest mass grave was discovered, was a key site for the disappearance and execution of Syrian citizens.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A mass grave containing the remains of nearly 1,000 victims of torture and extrajudicial killings under Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been uncovered in Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
This harrowing discovery sheds further light on the scale of human rights violations committed during Assad’s rule.
According to SOHR, the bodies found in the mass grave were primarily detainees who had been held at al-Mazzah Military Airport, one of the most notorious detention centers in Syria. The prison, which operated as a secret torture facility, became infamous for enforced disappearances and the systematic abuse of political prisoners and opposition figures.
Between 2011 and 2017, at least 29,000 detainees were imprisoned at al-Mazzah Military Airport, many of whom never re-emerged.
The latest mass grave discovery adds to an alarming record of atrocities linked to Assad’s regime. Since its collapse, 22 mass graves have been found across Syria, containing the remains of at least 2,681 victims.
The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons has reported that there are at least 66 mass graves across the country where the bodies of those who opposed Assad’s rule have been buried.
Distribution of Mass Graves Across Syria
According to SOHR statistics, the 22 discovered mass graves containing 2,681 bodies are distributed as follows:
- Deir Ezzor: Five mass graves with the remains of 106 bodies, including six children.
- Rif Dimashq: Four mass graves with the remains of 167 bodies.
- Hama: Three mass graves with the remains of 31 bodies.
- Homs: Four mass graves with the remains of 1,220 bodies.
- Daraa: Four mass graves with the remains of 137 bodies.
- Damascus: Two mass graves with the remains of 1,020 bodies.
The al-Mazzah Military Airport, where the latest mass grave was discovered, was a key site for the disappearance and execution of Syrian citizens.
Thousands of detainees suffered atrocities, including physical and psychological torture, before being buried in unmarked graves.
A Widespread Pattern of Mass Executions
The systematic torture and mass killings documented at sites like al-Mazzah are part of a broader pattern of human rights violations under Assad’s rule.
Reports from human rights organizations and defectors have long indicated that tens of thousands of political detainees were executed or tortured to death in regime prisons.
Many of these atrocities were carried out in facilities such as the notorious Saydnaya Military Prison and security branches across Damascus and other provinces.
The Syrian conflict, which began in 2011 following anti-government protests, escalated into one of the most brutal civil wars of the 21st century.
Assad’s government faced repeated accusations of crimes against humanity, including the use of chemical weapons, indiscriminate bombings, and mass arrests of civilians suspected of opposition sympathies.
