Search teams have recovered 175 bodies from mass grave in the Damascus suburb of Otaiba, Syrian authorities confirmed.
The site was discovered earlier this week by residents who alerted officials. The remains are believed to include civilians and opposition fighters killed in a February 2014 ambush by forces loyal to then-president Bashar al-Assad, as people tried to flee the besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta.
Officials said only bodies near the surface had so far been removed. Amer Fahed, a commander with the White Helmets civil defence group, said excavation of the site would not begin until procedures are set by the National Commission for Missing Persons. Ammar al-Issa, an official with the commission, added that the number of victims could be higher, with estimates ranging between 200 and 300.
Families of the disappeared gathered at the site in search of clues. Some said they recognised clothing among the recovered belongings.
The discovery is one of several mass graves uncovered across Syria since Assad’s ouster in December 2024, when a rebel offensive ended his nearly 25-year rule and the Baath Party’s decades-long dominance.
Syria’s interim government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, established the National Commission for Missing Persons in May to investigate cases of detention and disappearance. Rights groups estimate that about 150,000 people were detained or went missing between 2011 and 2024, many of them feared to be buried in unmarked graves.
Families of the disappeared continue to stage demonstrations demanding accountability and faster progress in uncovering the fate of their loved ones.
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The Kremlin on Friday dismissed proposals for a ceasefire to allow a territorial referendum in Ukraine, describing any pause in hostilities as a tacti...
Hungary has strongly criticised NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s warning that Russia could be capable of attacking the alliance within five years, with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó describing the remarks as irresponsible and dangerous.
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to halt all shooting from Friday evening following renewed fighting along their shared border, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday that it will introduce a licensing system for steel exports starting in 2026, covering around 300 steel products.
Venezuela’s oil shipments have plunged following the United States’ seizure of a tanker earlier this week.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
Kyiv has escalated its naval campaign against Moscow’s economic lifelines, claiming a successful strike on a vessel suspected of skirting international sanctions within the Black Sea.
Türkiye’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Friday that discussions in Washington with U.S. officials have strengthened efforts to expand bilateral trade, moving closer to a $100 billion target.
Lebanon is prepared to demarcate its border with Syria, President Joseph Aoun said on Friday, while noting that the dispute over the Shebaa Farms could be addressed at a later stage.
Greek farmers blocked the Port of Thessaloniki on Friday as part of nationwide protests demanding delayed European Union subsidies and compensation for rising production costs and livestock losses.
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif held talks on Friday during the International Peace and Trust Forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, focusing on bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues
ussian President Vladimir Putin described Moscow’s relations with Baghdad as historically strong and unbroken during a meeting with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid in Turkmenistan.
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