A Reuters investigation revealed that the former Syrian regime transferred tens of thousands of bodies from the mass grave in the al-Qutayfah area (Rif Dimashq province, near Damascus) to another site in the desert near the city of al-Dumayr (eastern Qalamoun in Rif Dimashq), between 2019 and 2021.
Reuters did not disclose the precise location of the grave in its report published on Tuesday, 14 October, saying this was to “reduce the chances of tampering,” but indicated that the secret site lies dozens of kilometers from the original location, more than an hour away.
Dubbed “earth moving,” the operation was reconstructed through testimonies from 13 people with direct knowledge or who took part, including truck drivers and a former officer in the disbanded Republican Guard, as well as analysis of images and documents.
The secret desert site contains at least 34 trenches ranging in length from about 20 to 125 meters, with a combined length reaching two kilometers.
According to witnesses involved in the operation, the transfer ran roughly four nights a week, with six to eight trucks hauling soil and human remains from al-Qutayfah to the desert site near al-Dumayr.
To cover up “the crimes”
Witnesses said the purpose of the operation was to conceal crimes committed by the deposed Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and to help burnish his government’s image.
The former Republican Guard officer told Reuters that the idea of moving thousands of bodies began in late 2018 as Assad was poised to declare “victory” over the opposition.
He added that Assad hoped to regain international recognition after years of sanctions and accusations of brutality.
Two truck drivers and the officer told the agency that military commanders informed them the aim was to empty the mass grave in al-Qutayfah and hide evidence of mass killings.
Hundreds of thousands missing
The former regime fell at dawn on 8 December 2024, after the “Sugar Operations Directorate” advanced to the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, following the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation that toppled Assad’s rule.
During the military campaign, the opposition managed to free thousands of detainees, most notably from the notorious Saydnaya Prison. The numbers, however, were far lower than expected, prompting many families to search for days in the hope of finding hidden cells holding more detainees.
Within hours of the regime’s collapse, official documents surfaced indicating that thousands of executions had been carried out against detainees, alongside the discovery of dozens of mass graves.
Human rights organizations estimate that around 160,000 people were forcibly disappeared people whose fate is believed to be execution in the former regime’s prisons.
On 17 May 2025, Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, issued Decrees 19 and 20 of 2025 establishing the National Authority for the Missing and the National Authority for Transitional Justice, pursuant to the Constitutional Declaration and the powers vested in the presidency.
Decree 19 provides for the formation of an independent body, the National Authority for the Missing, tasked with searching for and determining the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared, documenting cases, creating a national database, and providing legal and humanitarian support to families.
Under the decree, Mohammad Radhi Jalkhi was appointed as head of the Authority, mandated to form the team and set internal regulations within 30 days of the announcement.
National Authority for the Missing in Syria Launches Support Group with Civil Society Organizations
Bulldozing the al-Qutayfah grave
A team from the Association of Detainees and the Missing of Saydnaya Prison (ADMSP) visited the mass grave site in the city of al-Qutayfah (Rif Dimashq province) as part of efforts to uncover the fate of the missing in Syria.
On 19 December 2024, the Association said its team met residents who confirmed that the deposed Syrian regime, in cooperation with Russia, bulldozed the al-Qutayfah mass grave between 2018 and 2020, corroborating earlier information published by the Association about the destruction works.
The Association said the bulldozing aimed to erase traces of crimes committed by the deposed regime and conceal key evidence of its grave human rights violations.
Witnesses said the site was turned into a military radar base, raising serious concerns about the fate of the remains of thousands buried there.
The Association stressed that widely circulated figures of 100,000 victims buried in the al-Qutayfah grave are inaccurate and cannot be verified in the absence of any independent and transparent investigations.
It called on the international community and current authorities to protect mass grave sites, prevent any tampering, and to launch an independent international investigation at these locations in cooperation with local institutions and the victims’ families.
It also urged Syrians and the media not to disturb or approach the al-Qutayfah site or any mass graves until specialized international teams with the required expertise and capabilities arrive to secure the sites and help families of the forcibly disappeared and missing in Syria recover the remains of their loved ones.
On 30 January 2024, the Association published information that the deposed regime had bulldozed the mass grave in al-Qutayfah, which had been located near the 3rd Division headquarters of the former regime’s army, based on satellite imagery the Association obtained and analyzed.
Investigation reveals Assad regime moved thousands of bodies from al-Qutayfah mass grave Enab Baladi.
Hence then, the article about investigation reveals assad regime moved thousands of bodies from al qutayfah mass grave was published today ( ) and is available on ُEnabbaladi ( Syria ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Investigation reveals Assad regime moved thousands of bodies from al-Qutayfah mass grave )
Also on site :
- Russia to test all labor migrants for hepatitis
- Skelton: Katie Porter’s meltdown opens the door for this L.A. Democrat
- Xerox set to reduce its workforce after acquiring the company Lexmark