On Sunday, marking the 14th anniversary of Syria’s civil war, families of the tens of thousands of Syrians who disappeared during the conflict gathered in Daraa, calling on the newly formed interim government to continue the search for their loved ones. The United Nations estimates that over 130,000 Syrians were forcibly disappeared during the war, many detained by the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad, as well as by opposition fighters and the extremist Islamic State (ISIS) group. Advocacy group The Syrian Campaign reports that 112,000 of these individuals are still missing.
Wafa Mustafa, whose father Ali was detained by Assad’s security forces in 2013, shared her ongoing struggle. She fled Syria a week later and hasn’t heard from him since. “I’ve searched in prisons, morgues, hospitals, and even among the bodies of martyrs, but still no answers,” Mustafa said, holding a placard bearing her father’s photo at the protest. Despite the pain, she continues to hope for answers.
The call to preserve evidence and continue the search for the disappeared was echoed by a United Nations-backed commission, urging the interim government led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa to take action. The commission also called for accountability for those responsible for the abductions.
Amid the calls for justice, some foreign nationals are also among the missing, including American journalist Austin Tice, who was captured in 2012. His mother met with Al-Sharaa earlier this year in hopes of learning more about his fate.
Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 after Assad’s crackdown on peaceful protests, has left a legacy of unimaginable loss. Over 500,000 people have been killed, and more than 5 million Syrians have fled the country. The fate of those still missing remains a poignant symbol of the ongoing struggle for justice and closure in the war-torn nation.
