On Sunday, June 29, 2025, Syrian Civil Defense teams discovered a mass grave containing the remains of five unidentified individuals in the al-Rawwad area, west of Deir Ez-Zour City, after a resident alerted the Internal Security Forces. The area is under the control of the transitional government.
According to information obtained by the Syrian Network for Human Rights from reliable local sources, Civil Defense personnel recovered the remains of five individuals from the grave. Search and investigation efforts are ongoing to determine the victims’ identities, dates of death, and circumstances of their deaths.
According to available information, the cemetery is located near a former checkpoint of Bashar al-Assad regime forces in the al-Rawwad area, an area that was under the control of Bashar al-Assad regime forces and Iranian militias for several years. It is known for having witnessed the arrests and forced disappearances of dozens of civilians during that period.
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 individuals 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.
Recommendations by SNHR
- Immediately freeze the site as an international crime scene, and prevent any tampering with criminal 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 as soon as victims’ identities are identified.
- 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 relatives, as a central step in the transitional justice process.
