Syrian authorities recover 75 bodies from mass grave near Damascus

DAMASCUS/ISTANBUL

Syrian authorities recovered 75 additional bodies from a mass grave on Friday in the village of Otaybah near Damascus, raising the total exhumed remains to 175 since the discovery on Thursday, according to an Anadolu reporter.

The grave was found by residents, who alerted authorities. Emergency and disaster teams continued excavation Friday, joined by relatives of missing persons killed by the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime.

Aisha Darwish, who has searched for her son since he was detained 13 years ago at the age of 15, said she came to the site hoping to identify his remains.

“He was wearing black pants and an olive shirt. I saw clothes here that might belong to him. I came to find my son, but we are still waiting,” she told Anadolu.

Ghassan Dibo said his son disappeared while in high school years ago. “I thought I could recognize him by his clothes. That’s why I came here, but I haven’t found any trace yet,” he told the Turkish news agency..

Authorities reported that the grave contained around 100 bodies believed to be opposition fighters killed by the Assad regime.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in late 2024, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long grip on power that began in 1963.

A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January.