Up to 300,000 Syrians possibly missing under Assad family rule

DAMASCUS, Syria — A Syrian commission for missing persons estimated that between 120,000 and 300,000 people have gone missing during more than five decades of authoritarian rule by the Assad family.

Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, the head of the National Commission for Missing Persons, said on Monday evening that between 120,000 and 300,000 people have gone missing since 1970.

“But the actual number may be much higher,” he told state news agency SANA.

He said that the governmental commission mandate covers the period from 1970 until now.

Hafez Assad served as president of Syria from 1971 till his death in 2000, after which his son, Bashar Assad, took over until he was overthrown by an Islamist-led rebel alliance in December.

Jalkhi said that the commission, which was formed in May, has so far documented 63 mass graves and they have received information about other locations that are yet to be verified.

Tens of thousands of people disappeared after the 2011 pro-democracy protests against Assad’s regime escalated into a full-scale civil war, displacing some 14 million people and killing more than 300,000 civilians, according to UN estimates.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights has previously said that around 157,000 went missing since March 2011.

Since Bashar Assad fled to Moscow in December, the country has been ruled by a transitional administration led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.