The Syrian Civil Defense found 3 mass graves in the village of Al-Qabu in the Homs countryside, and the remains of 20 people have been recovered so far.
The rescue agency said on its Facebook account that 16 graves have been discovered so far, and completely burned bodies were found inside small bags.
The teams extracted the remains of the bodies, including skulls and bones, and collected DNA samples. The remains were placed in black bags to document them and conduct further analysis on them by a specialized team to identify the identities of the bodies in the discovered graves.
Media activist, Mohammed al-Hawlani, who accompanies the civil defense teams, told Zaman al-Wasl that on 12/28/2024, the relevant authorities in the Taldo area were informed of the presence of human remains consisting of skulls and bones.
He added that the area where the graves were found was a military zone in the town of al-Qabu, adjacent to the town of Taldo, before the liberation, and the shepherds spread out in the area did not dare to approach it because of the control of the regime militants over it. After the fall of the regime, they began to spread out in this area and found bodies among the rocks, not buried. It was noted that the skulls and bones were crushed due to being stoned.
The security authorities and civil defense moved on Sunday and the civil defense team was shot at by the pro-Assad thugs (aka Shabiha) of al-Qabu, so they were forced to withdraw, according to the activist.
Civil Defense went out to the area on Monday with a military force to secure it, and those who arrived were surprised by the presence of an innumerable number of bodies. Civil Defense teams were able to extract 20 bodies, including children, women, and some families, as they discovered the remains of a man, a woman, and two children in one place.
Al-Hawlani pointed out that Civil Defense personnel were unable to extract a larger number because it required machinery and a specialized team.
The activist revealed that he saw the remains of a woman holding her child and she appeared to have been beaten with stones. He also found a girl's hair tie. He believes that some of the bodies belong to citizens who went missing at the Qabu junction during the regime's control, as more than 30 civilians went missing at this junction, including entire families who were documented by name.
He pointed out that before the graves, there are two farms no more than 50 meters away from the location of the remains, and most likely torture operations were taking place there, and it was confirmed that their owners were shabiha.
Al-Hawlani pointed out that reports were received about the presence of graves in other areas surrounding Houla, including the pro-regime village of Al-Sharqaliyah, and that the bodies were placed in a sewage canal.
A regime soldier, who was serving in the water institution on the outskirts of Taldo town, confirmed that dozens of civilians were killed and buried in the place.
Al-Hawlani pointed out that specialized teams from the Civil Defense collected the remains that were found on the outskirts of Al-Qabu town, and that complete samples were taken and sent to the forensic medicine in Homs for DNA testing to identify the owners of these bodies in the future.
According to Human Rights Watch, the transitional authorities in Syria must secure, collect and protect evidence, including from mass grave sites and government records and archives, which will be vital in future criminal trials and legal proceedings because access to due process and fair trials for the perpetrators of massacres is vital.
Fares Al-Rifai - Zaman Al-Wasl
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