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GrayzoneDEC 22 2024
Mass Graves Reportedly Discovered Near Damascus
Above: A mass grave is uncovered in the Baghdad Bridge area of Damascus, Syria as White Helmets to work in the area on Dec. 17, 2024. Image copyright: Emin Sansar/Contributor/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Facts
Multiple mass graves have been discovered across Syria following the recent ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, with the largest site at al-Qutayfah, 25 miles (40 km) north of Damascus, potentially containing up to 100K bodies.
The Syrian Air Force intelligence was reportedly responsible for transferring bodies from military hospitals to mass grave locations, where bulldozer operators were forced to compress bodies to maximize space.
International war crimes prosecutor Stephen Rapp described the evidence as revealing a state-run "machinery of death" in which more than 100K people were tortured and killed since 2013.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The systematic nature of mass killings and burials reveals a state-sponsored program of extermination, with evidence pointing to a coordinated effort involving military hospitals, intelligence branches, and disposal sites that operated continuously for years under Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship.
Establishment-critical narrative
The claims about mass graves are unverified allegations being used to justify the violent overthrow of a legitimate government, and the numbers cited are clearly speculative. Western media has made a sustained attempt to slander Syria's former government by whitewashing the crimes of anti-government forces and amplifying sensationalist headlines.