A former U.S. war crimes ambassador has claimed that mass graves have been discovered in Syria, alleging at least 100,000 people were tortured and killed by the former al-Assad regime. Stephen Rapp, former U.S. war crimes ambassador, described the situation as a “system of state terror.” The graves, uncovered by Syrian Civil Defense teams, known as the White Helmets, reportedly contained remains showing signs of widespread torture and death.

Over 100,000 individuals are believed to have been tortured and killed under Assad’s regime, referred to by Rapp as a “machinery of death.” The regime, spanning Bashar al-Assad and his late father’s rule, has been accused of executing political prisoners and conducting systematic disappearances since Syria’s civil war began in 2011. Assad, now in Russia, has consistently denied these accusations.

The International Commission on Missing Persons, based in The Hague, has received reports of 66 mass grave sites in Syria. It has collected data on 28,200 individuals reported missing by Syrian families.

Reports from Syria remain somewhat unreliable, however, as the rebels, led by al-Qaeda franchise Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), consolidate their power. CNN, for example, aired footage reportedly showing a prisoner being freed from prison, but it later emerged that the man was a member of the former Assad regime. The man was also accused of torturing and extorting locals.

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