Opposition groups accused the Syrian government of carrying out a massacre near the capital of Damascus, where said several hundred people were found dead.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 300 bodies were found in the suburb of Daraya over the weekend after a five-day assault carried out by regime forces. The organization said that it only documented the names of around 200 people, which include women, children, rebels, and others.
Purported video footage of the bodies was uploaded to YouTube.
The anti-government Local Coordination Committees said that “death toll has doubled in the past few days due to field executions and revenge killings.” It also said that several hundred were killed in the suburb.
“Daraya, a city of dignity, has paid a heavy price for demanding freedom,” the Committees said, as added “the death toll has doubled in the past few days due to field executions and revenge killings.”
Before it was overrun by regime forces, it sustained several days of heavy bombardment, activists said. The regime detained over 1,755 persons upon regaining control of the city.
The state-run news agency said that armed terrorist were responsible for the massacre.
“Our heroic armed forces cleansed Daraya from remnants of armed terrorist groups who committed crimes against the sons of the town and scared them and sabotaged and destroyed public and private property,” it said, according to The Associated Press.
