Authorities in Homs province have discovered several mass graves containing the remains of about 16 unidentified people in the village of Abu Hakfa al-Shamali, in the al-Mukharram area of northeastern Homs countryside, a security source said Saturday.
The discovery was made after a local shepherd reported the site to authorities. Mustafa Mohammad, head of checkpoints in the al-Mukharram area, told the SANA that a patrol was immediately dispatched to the location, where six graves were found distributed inside caves. Civil defense and forensic medicine teams have begun procedures to identify the victims and determine the causes and timing of death.
Mohammad noted that the area had previously been under the control of the “National Defense Militia,” which operated under the defunct regime before the liberation of Syria.
Forensic doctor Ahmad al-Khalil said that the remains found in the first cave included three bodies — a man in his thirties, a woman in her twenties, and a child about three years old. He estimated that the deaths occurred roughly ten years ago. Specialized teams are continuing to uncover additional remains in the other caves.
In a similar incident last September, civil defense teams in Homs recovered skeletal remains of unidentified individuals in the Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood after residents reported finding human bones in the area.
Authorities said forensic examinations are ongoing to identify the victims and determine the circumstances behind their deaths, with results expected to shed light on one of the area’s grim chapters.
Amer Dhawa
