Over 12 mass graves found in Syria's Daraa governorate

By Salih Okuroglu and Omer Koparan

DAMASCUS (AA) - More than 12 mass graves were discovered Monday in Daraa Governorate in southern Syria containing the remains of bodies believed to be civilians killed by the regime of ousted leader Bashar Assad.

Following the collapse earlier this month of the Baath regime, mass graves are being unearthed as part of search and survey activities across the country.

A statement by the anti-regime groups that carried out excavation work with construction equipment in Daraa said a mass grave was discovered in Izraa district.

It said 31 bodies have been found so far and the number may increase.

Local residents are assisting in the excavations.

Earlier, Anadolu crews captured footage of a mass grave in the Baghdad Bridge area outside Damascus, where the remains of bodies believed to belong to civilians killed by the Assad regime were found.

It is understood that those who died due to torture and conditions in various prisons, including the notorious Sednaya Prison in the capital, Damascus, were buried in the cemetery.

In the footage, which showed long and deep pits dug for bodies buried one on top of the other, sacks marked with prison codes and the names of the deceased were found.

Sacks were seen being taken out of the graves filled with the remains of corpses.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul