Bodies found in new IS mass grave in Syria

The bodies of four young men, one handcuffed behind his back, were discovered near al-Bab in Syria, after an international lawyer called for greater evidence gathering on IS war crimes.

MENA

2 min read

Robert Cusack

31 March, 2017

The mass grave was found in an abandoned well [Syrian Civil Defence/Facebook]

Local media activists are appealing for people to help identify the bodies of four people who were discovered buried in a well near al-Bab, north Syria.

The al-Bab co-ordination committee is appealing for information on four people who appear to have been executed by Islamic State (IS) fighters and dumped without ceremony.

"We've extracted four bodies up until now," Loai Abu al-Joud told The New Arab.

All four were young men in their early twenties wearing civilian clothing and one man was handcuffed from behind. Their remains have since been buried in the local graveyard.

The discovery in the village of al-Azraq is the latest in a long string of mass graves uncovered since IS left al-Bab in February.

IS retreated from al-Bab after a prolonged siege by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, supported by airstrikes from Turkey, the US-led coalition and Russia.

More than 50 mass graves have been discovered in land recovered from IS in Iraq and Syria.

International human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, renewed her call on Thursday for increased evidence gathering on IS war crimes and atrocities to aid future criminal cases.

"I believe that the crimes committed by IS in Iraq are some of the worst of our generation," Clooney said at Chatham House.

"All of this evidence is going to be lost if it's not collected soon.

"Mass graves are being contaminated as relatives dig for remains of their loved ones. Documents are not being gathered. Witnesses are being dispersed around the world. They are increasingly reluctant to to speak about these cases," she added.