ICRC says 35,000 people registered as missing in 13 years of conflict in Syria
The head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Syria has called “on all parties across Syria to prevent the destruction of crucial records, like arrest logs, lists of detainees or deceased persons, as well as court and hospital records”.
Stephan Sakalian made the statement after his team visited Sednaya Prison, where they “saw piles of damaged documents scattered throughout different rooms”.
“These records may contain crucial information that could help families find long-awaited answers,” he said.
The statement repeated the ICRC’s call for access to all places of detention in Syria.
“The images we saw this week illustrate how vital this access is to prevent some of the worst human suffering in Syria or anywhere else in the world,” Sakalian added.
Researchers conclude at least 80,000 missing Syrians have been killed
The head of Syria’s Network for Human Rights says only 33,000 detainees have been found and freed from Syria’s prisons since the fall of al-Assad.
So where are the 80,000 other missing people?
What is Captagon, the addictive drug mass-produced in al-Assad’s Syria?
Four days since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, opposition fighters who have taken control of Damascus have uncovered large stashes of Captagon, a narcotic substance that has long been mass-produced in the country – so much so that it became almost synonymous with the nation’s removed leadership.
Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani), the top commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has in recent days accused the former regime of turning Syria into “the world’s leading source of Captagon”. He has promised to crack down on Captagon manufacture and trade.
But what is Captagon?
It’s an addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant, that has been primarily produced in Syria in recent years and smuggled to the Gulf states.
Although the al-Assad regime denied any involvement in the trade, observers say production and smuggling of the drug brought in billions of dollars for the ousted president and his associates as they looked for an economic lifeline. The substance also became a bargaining chip for al-Assad in talks that led to the Arab League reinstating Syria’s membership last year, as nations looked to curb the illicit drug trade.
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