DAMASCUS/ ISTANBUL

Syrian authorities on Tuesday discovered four mass graves containing dozens of remains north of Homs in central Syria.

An Interior Ministry statement said that the four mass graves were found on Al-Sittin Street north of Homs city during excavation works.

The ministry said authorities are conducting forensic examinations to identify the victims and verify the possible existence of additional burial sites.

Since the removal of the Bashar al‑Assad regime in December 2024, numerous mass burial sites have been uncovered across Syria, the largest of which was near Damascus.

Syrian citizens say the fall of Assad’s regime marked the end of a decades-long era of fear, with its prisons having become nightmares of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.

The newly established Syrian government has repeatedly stated that holding accountable those responsible for crimes under the previous regime will remain a priority.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly in September, President Ahmad al‑Sharaa pledged to deliver “justice from every person whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents.”

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Sharaa’s new transitional administration was formed in January.