Syrian White Helmets collect human remains found near the mausoleum of Sayyida Zeinab near Damascus, Dec. 18, 2024. (Credit: Emmanuel Haddad/L'OLJ)
As a new mass grave was discovered near Damascus on Sept. 19, 2025, we're suggesting a reread of this article, initially published on Dec. 19, 2024, just 11 days after the fall of the Assad regime.A small warehouse with a half-open metal door spews an indigestible mix of medical equipment and ready-made meals onto the tarmac of the military base. Until recently, it was occupied by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and their Iraqi and Lebanese auxiliaries, including Hezbollah, in the shadow of Sayyida Zeinab's mausoleum, eleven kilometers south of Damascus.The putrid smell emanating from the dark interior is not simply that of stale food, says Sheikh Motaz Sekaoui. Sekaoui, with a salt-and-pepper beard, is from the neighborhood, and for the time being he is responsible, under Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) purview, for the...
As a new mass grave was discovered near Damascus on Sept. 19, 2025, we're suggesting a reread of this article, initially published on Dec. 19, 2024, just 11 days after the fall of the Assad regime.A small warehouse with a half-open metal door spews an indigestible mix of medical equipment and ready-made meals onto the tarmac of the military base. Until recently, it was occupied by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and their Iraqi and Lebanese auxiliaries, including Hezbollah, in the shadow of Sayyida Zeinab's mausoleum, eleven kilometers south of Damascus.The putrid smell emanating from the dark interior is not simply that of stale food, says Sheikh Motaz Sekaoui. Sekaoui, with a salt-and-pepper beard, is from the neighborhood, and for the time being he is responsible, under Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) purview, for...
