Residents found a mass grave in the village of Kafraa in the eastern Hama countryside (central Syria) on Saturday, June 27, with preliminary information indicating that it dates back to the period of the former regime’s rule and contains the remains of fighters who were then in opposition ranks.
The Internal Security Command in Hama governorate said patrols from the Suran District Police moved to a farm on the outskirts of Kafraa after receiving information about a grave at the site, where unidentified human remains of several people were found.
It added that officers immediately imposed a security cordon around the site after finding human skulls and remnants of military clothing, believed to belong to opposition fighters who were active in the area at the time.
The Internal Security Command notified the relevant authorities, which arrived at the site and began the necessary legal and forensic procedures, including exhuming the remains, working to identify the victims, and completing investigations.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Hama reported that the area witnessed pivotal military stages, most notably the battles that took place in 2017, when groups from Jund al-Aqsa, affiliated at the time with the Free Syrian Army, launched major clashes against the former Syrian regime.
The correspondent explained that these strategic areas, after the former regime took control of them, came under the control and influence of Ahmed Darwish, one of the Military Security commanders. His forces imposed a new field reality by deploying military checkpoints and security posts on all roads and main junctions linking those villages and farms.
Series of Mass Grave Discoveries in Syria
The discovery of the Kafraa mass grave comes amid the uncovering of multiple mass graves across several Syrian governorates, linked to crimes committed by the former regime and other parties during the years of war.
On June 12, residents of the Cherubim Monastery area in the city of Saydnaya in the Damascus countryside found a mass grave containing the remains of more than 60 people.
The National Commission for the Missing told Enab Baladi at the time that it had received a report from residents and, in coordination with the relevant authorities, conducted an initial field assessment to estimate the technical, logistical, and legal response requirements, ahead of taking appropriate measures in line with approved professional and legal standards.
Days earlier, teams from the National Commission for the Missing, with the participation of Civil Defence teams, responded to a report of human remains in the town of al-Sahl, which belongs to the city of al-Nabk in the Qalamoun area of the Damascus countryside, on June 8.
Civilians in the city of Qara in the Damascus countryside also found a site suspected of containing a mass grave on May 30, after discovering sealed bags that were later found to contain human remains.
The area where the bags were found had been under the control of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia during past years, according to the Rif Dimashq Media Directorate.
On June 5, residents in the same city found a second mass grave containing the remains of four people.
Mass Graves
During the period that followed the fall of the former Syrian regime, civilian teams and government bodies uncovered numerous mass graves containing people killed during the years of the Syrian revolution by various parties to the conflict.
Most of these mass graves were linked to the former regime, which carried out field executions against thousands of detainees, or to the Islamic State group.
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