Human remains recovered near Ish al-Werwer; missing persons probe continues

Discovery and response

The National Commission for the Missing announced the recovery of human remains at a site near Ish al-Werwer in Rural Damascus on May 21. Teams followed professional protocols to document, collect and preserve evidence, then transferred the remains to an identification center to complete identification procedures. Enab Baladi’s correspondent reported the terrain indicates bodies were thrown from a hill into a rocky, hard-to-reach valley. The commission urged residents not to approach or tamper with suspected burial sites and asked the public to report any information through official channels as authorities continue the investigation.

Context and background

The find follows a May 20 report of suspected remains in the Mezzeh area and forms part of wider efforts to locate mass graves from Syria’s conflict era, many of which have been linked to the former regime’s field executions or to ISIS. Past investigations, including reporting in cooperation with survivors and former burial workers, have identified large graves around Damascus and described large-scale, systematic burials during 2011–2017. The National Commission for the Missing was established by decrees in May 2025 and launched a support platform with several civil society organizations in August 2025 to build an information bank, assist families, and establish protocols for witness protection and data exchange, as reported by Enab Baladi