The United Nations human rights office says it has verified at least 97 cases of abductions or disappearances across Syria so far this year, warning that enforced disappearances have not stopped despite the collapse of the Assad government nearly a year ago.
Thameen Al-Keetan, spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the real number is likely much higher because many families are too afraid to report cases publicly.
Assad was removed from power last year after a rapid 11-day offensive by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, ending more than a decade of civil war. However, the legacy of the conflict remains vast: according to the OHCHR, more than 100,000 people went missing under Assad’s rule. Many of those cases are still unresolved.
Al-Keetan said some families have been able to locate missing relatives since the change in government, but thousands remain without answers — and new disappearances this year are deepening the trauma.
Ongoing instability in parts of the country, including violence in the southern city of Sweida and along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, has made it increasingly dangerous for witnesses and relatives to come forward with information. The U.N. says some individuals have even received threats for cooperating with investigators.
OHCHR noted specific cases such as the July disappearance of Syria Civil Defense volunteer Hamza Al-Amarin, who went missing during an evacuation mission in Sweida.
Earlier this year, Syria’s new authorities announced plans to establish commissions to investigate crimes committed under the Assad family’s rule and to search for missing persons. The U.N. has urged that these bodies be independent, credible, and aligned with international law — and called on Syria’s current authorities to ensure that enforced disappearances no longer continue under any authority or armed group.
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Source:Africa Publicity
