📰 UN reports nearly 100 people abducted, disappeared in Syria Since January

QAMISHLI, syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria (North Press) – Nearly 100 people have been abducted or forcibly disappeared across Syria since the beginning of the year, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) stated on Friday, urging syrian-authorities-arrest-suspect-in-tadamon-massacre/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syrian authorities arrest suspect in Tadamon massacre">syrian/" class="auto-internal-link">syrian authorities to strengthen accountability and clarify the fate of thousands of missing persons. “Eleven months after the fall of the former administration in Syria, we continue to receive worrying reports about dozens of abductions and enforced disappearance,” OHCHR representative Thameen al-Kheetan stated during a press briefing in Geneva. Al-Kheetan verified that the UN office has documented at least 97 cases of abduction since January 2025. He added that while some families have been reunited with their loved ones, “numerous still live with the distress of not knowing where they are, or what occurred to them. ” The representative stressed that the “fate and whereabouts of all those who have gone missing, both before and after the fall of the former administration, must urgently be clarified,” underscoring OHCHR’s backing for the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria (IIMP).

Karla Quintana, who heads the IIMP, recently stated that “everyone in Syria knows someone who has gone missing,” reflecting the depth of the crisis that continues to haunt the country. Syria has been undergoing a political transition since the overthrow of the Assad regime in December 2024, following more than 13 years of civil war. Enforced disappearances were a hallmark of both Bashar al-Assad’s and his father Hafez al-Assad’s rule, with an estimated 100,000 people still unaccounted for.

Despite the emerging government’s pledges to address past abuses, human rights groups say patterns of detention and abduction persist, particularly in areas controlled by competing security bodies and armed groups. The UN established the IIMP in 2023 to coordinate efforts to uncover mass graves, identify remains, and reunite families with missing relatives. The body has urged damascus and all local authorities to cooperate fully and share information from prisons and detention centers.

OHCHR reiterated that uncovering the truth about the disappeared is “essential for national reconciliation and lasting peace” in post-war Syria. By Jwan Shekaki