The National Commission for the Missing found human remains in Ish al-Werwer (Rural Damascus Governorate), on Thursday evening, May 21.
Specialized teams worked according to approved professional protocols and standards for documenting, collecting, and recovering the remains, ensuring evidence is protected and the dignity of the victims is respected, according to a statement published by the commission on its official accounts.
The remains were handed over to the identification center to complete the necessary procedures.
The National Commission for the Missing said work is continuing in coordination with the relevant authorities, as part of efforts to uncover the fate of missing persons, provide justice to their families, and preserve their right to know the truth.
The commission called on residents not to approach or tamper with any sites suspected of containing mass graves, because of the impact this could have on documentation and investigation efforts. It also urged immediate reporting of any information or suspected locations through approved official channels.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Rural Damascus said the site where the remains were found is located near Ish al-Werwer neighborhood, and the terrain indicates that the bodies were thrown from the top of a hill into a rocky valley that is difficult to reach.
Previous Incident in Mezzeh
The commission had announced that it responded to a report about suspected human remains in the Mezzeh area of Damascus on Wednesday, May 20.
The remains were found during excavation and construction work at the site.
Mass Graves
In the period following the fall of the former Syrian regime, civil teams and government bodies found many mass graves containing people who were killed during the years of the Syrian revolution at the hands of various parties to the conflict.
Most of these graves were linked to the former regime, which carried out field executions against thousands of detainees, or to the Islamic State group.
There is no specific number of mass graves in Syria. In an investigation published by The New York Times in cooperation with the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons in Sednaya Prison, witnesses helped identify the locations of two mass graves believed to contain thousands of bodies of Syrians who had been detained.
One witness, who had worked before 2011 burying civilians and was later recruited by intelligence officers to dispose of bodies coming from detention centers, said he continued this work for six years. He said the first grave he worked at, from mid 2011 until early 2013, was located in the town of Najha, south of Damascus.
In early 2013, the regime established a new mass grave near a Syrian army base in the town of al-Qutayfah, north of Damascus, according to the witness. He added that at some points during the six years he worked in the mass graves, his team unloaded two trucks about twice a week, each carrying between 150 and 600 bodies.
Syria’s president during the transitional phase, Ahmed al-Sharaa, issued Decrees No. 19 and No. 20 of 2025 on May 17, 2025, establishing the National Commission for the Missing and the National Commission for Transitional Justice.
Platform to Document the Forcibly Disappeared
The National Commission for the Missing launched the “Support Platform for the National Commission for the Missing in Syria” on August 30, 2025, in cooperation with six civil society organizations concerned with documenting Syrians forcibly disappeared since 1970. The launch took place during a press conference attended by Enab Baladi at the time and by several local and Arab media outlets.
The platform, known as the support group, aims to create an information bank for missing persons, as well as an identification card project to provide legal, psychological, and social support to their families, while establishing protocols to protect witnesses and exchange data.
The platform included several organizations that have helped document victims of enforced disappearance, most notably the Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, the Syrian Archive, the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons in Sednaya Prison, Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights (LDHR), and the Caesar Families Association.
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