Inside Syria's fight to identify the disappeared

"One cabinet is entirely dedicated to ribs. Another contains skulls. list of 3 itemsend of list These are only some of Syria's missing; their disappearances remain an unresolved legacy of the dictatorship under Bashar al-Assad. A year on from the fall of the regime in December 2024, the Identification Centre's head, Dr Anas Hourani, has examined the only mass grave that has been fully exhumed so far."

"It could take his team up to four years to identify victims from that site alone, he said. This cabinet is full of ribs discovered in a single mass grave. Dr Hourani, the centre's lead, believes it could take up to four years to identify the victims [Harriet Tatham/Al Jazeera] It's a daunting timeline. Across Syria, there may be as many as 66 mass graves, according to the International Commission on Missing Persons."

The Syrian Identification Centre in Damascus houses stored human bones from mass graves, including cabinets of ribs and skulls. Dr Anas Hourani examined the only fully exhumed mass grave and estimates his team could need up to four years to identify victims from that site alone. The International Commission on Missing Persons estimates as many as 66 mass graves across Syria. Forced disappearances were central to the al-Assad regime's vast prison network where detainees were tortured, killed, and often buried in mass graves. When prisons were opened, about 30,000 detainees were freed, but many families continue to face likely bereavement and missing relatives.

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