Hundreds of thousands of bodies could be buried in Syrian mass graves, advocacy group says

Syrians are starting to uncover mass graves across the country, shedding light on the magnitude of atrocities committed during the brutal rule of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Since Assad fled Syria on December 8 following the collapse of his regime, scores of Syrian families still have no answer about what happened to their loved ones following their detention by Assad’s secret police.
Hundreds of thousands of bodies of people “tortured to death by the Assad regime” could be buried in a mass grave east of Damascus, according to Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), an anti-Assad advocacy group.


A ceasefire between Turkey and the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) around the northern Syrian city of Manbij has been extended until the end of this week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
Washington brokered an initial ceasefire last week after fighting that broke out earlier this month as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
"We continue to engage with the SDF, with Turkey about a path forward," Miller said at a regular press briefing, adding that the U.S. would like the ceasefire to be extended for as long as possible.
"We don't want to see any party take advantage of the current unstable situation to advance their own narrow interests at the expense of the broader Syrian national interest," he added.
The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria. It is spearheaded by YPG militia, a group that Ankara sees extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants that it outlaws and who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
Washington has been closely watching any moves by Turkey or Turkish-backed forces on the Kurdish-controlled town of Kobani, but Miller said the U.S. understands Turkish concerns over the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara call a terrorist group.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi expressed on Tuesday the group's readiness to present a proposal that establishes a demilitarized zone in the northern city of Kobani with the redeployment of security forces under U.S. supervision and presence.
He said in a statement on X that the proposal aims to address Turkey's security concerns and ensure permanent stability in the area.