On Sunday, June 15, 2025, Civil Defense teams and Internal Security Forces affiliated with the Ministry of Interior of the transitional government exhumed the remains of 11 civilians from two families from a mass grave in the village of Khirbet al-Suda in the Homs countryside. The remains belonged to civilians killed by forces loyal to the Bashar al-Assad regime in the village in 2013. It should be noted that the area is under the control of the transitional government in Syria.
According to information obtained by the Syrian Network for Human Rights from reliable local sources, the Internal Security Forces arrested a person named “Ammar Badr Al-Younes,” a former member of the forces of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The person provided information about his involvement, along with other members, in the killing of civilians from the village of Khirbet al-Sawda on the Masyaf-Homs road, from the “Al-Rahim – Al-Khalas” families, burning their bodies, and burying them in the village on May 15, 2013.
Following this, an Internal Security Forces patrol, accompanied by the victims’ families and Civil Defense personnel, headed to the location identified by the accused. The mass grave was found and the remains recovered. These remains were transferred to the relevant authorities for examination and necessary action.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights notes that the issue of mass graves in Syria is one of the most complex human rights issues, with tens of thousands of families still unaware of the fate of their relatives who were forcibly disappeared during the years of armed conflict.
Legal Conclusions:
- The presence of a mass grave containing the remains of persons believed to be civilians killed during the armed conflict indicates the commission of extrajudicial killings or mass executions, which constitute crimes against humanity.
- Any tampering with the site or unlawful burial of victims constitutes the destruction of forensic evidence related to serious international crimes, threatening the right to truth and obstructing access to justice and redress.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights’ recommendations:
- Immediately freeze the site as an international crime scene and prevent any tampering with forensic evidence by any party until the arrival of specialized forensic teams and international criminal investigations.
- Involve Syrian civil society, families of missing persons, and victims in investigation and documentation mechanisms, and provide psychological and legal support to families immediately upon identification of victims.
- Launch a unified national and international database for missing persons, with the aim of matching DNA with victims and helping thousands of families learn the fate of their loved ones, as a central step in the transitional justice process.
