HOMS, Syria—Syrian Internal Security Forces announced on Monday the discovery of a secret underground prison in the al-Mukharram area of the eastern Homs countryside. The prison was used by the former Syrian regime to detain and torture civilians over the past years.
The deputy director of the Al-Mukhram area, Omar Al-Moussa, said that the discovery took place
about ten days ago during a police patrol inspection campaign in the area.
Explaining that the prison is a fortified underground bunker equipped with a locked iron door,
It includes sponge mattresses, wool blankets, and torture tools, including sticks and ropes.
In addition to books and publications that were used to incite against the “opposition factions” of the former regime,
according to what was reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Al-Mousa indicated that the prison is connected to a tunnel five meters deep and forty meters long,
suggesting that it was part of a secret network for holding detainees away from the eyes of human rights organizations.
Official documents revealed
This discovery is the second of its kind in less than a month, as the authorities had made a discovery on September 24th.
A similar prison was found in an agricultural area near the village of Abu Hakfa in the northeastern countryside of Homs.
In the following days, official documents revealed mass executions of thousands of detainees.
In addition to finding dozens of mass graves around Damascus, Homs and Hama.
Human rights organizations stated that the number of people forcibly disappeared reached approximately 160,000 people.
It is also believed that most of them were executed in the prisons of the former regime.
Mass transfer of bodies from Al-Qatifah cemetery to the desert
In a related development, Reuters revealed in an investigation published on October 14 that the former Syrian regime had transferred tens of thousands of bodies to a mass grave.
This occurred in the Al-Qutayfah area in the Damascus countryside,
and was transferred to a secret location in the desert near the city of Al-Dumayr between 2019 and 2021.
The investigation, which was based on the testimonies of 13 sources, including former officers
and drivers who participated in the operation,
The investigation, which was based on the testimonies of 13 sources,
including former officers and drivers who participated in the operation,
Transfers take place at night, four days a week.
Where 6 to 8 trucks loaded with human remains and dirt passed.
He called the operation at the time “transferring the land,” referring to the obliteration of evidence of the genocide crimes inside the Qatif cemetery.
Which contained the bodies of detainees who died under torture or execution.
