The Suweyda Press site, citing special sources, reported that three mass graves had been found and that they contained dozens of civilians from Suweyda who were killed in attacks by the Syrian Interim Government forces.
According to sources, the largest grave was located in the Ezra village area east of Daraa. About 50 bodies buried in scattered form were found in the grave. Eyewitnesses stated that among these bodies were wounded people who had been executed at the medical point in the Besra al-Harir area.
The site reported that the bodies were photographed before being buried. According to Suweyda Press, the bodies buried in the other mass graves in the villages of Necha and Adra, which are under Damascus’ control, were kept under the supervision of the “Center for Identifying Missing Persons.” Thirty-nine of these bodies were decayed to the extent that they were unrecognizable except for dental traces.
A relative of one of the people found in the mass graves told the site that the “Center for Identifying Missing Persons” had informed him of the number assigned to his brother’s body, but demanded 14 million Syrian pounds to release the body and deliver it to Suweyda.
According to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, this practice is considered a war crime. Under Article 17 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, the opposing party is obliged to bury bodies respectfully, identify them, and inform their families.
The fact that this law was not applied in the discovered mass graves is further evidence that the issue of justice in Syria has become even more complicated after the collapse of the Ba’ath regime.