Dozens of demonstrators gathered Wednesday in Douma, near Damascus, to demand answers about the fate of four activists who disappeared eleven years ago in this town which was controlled by rebels.
The densely populated semi-urban area east of Damascus was recaptured from former rebel and jihadist factions by the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad in 2018, after a long and bloody siege.
A silent crowd held up photos with the inscription ” Where are they ? » et ” Freedom “ to question the new authorities on the fate of their loved ones.
The fate of tens of thousands of prisoners and missing people constitutes one of the most painful aspects of the Syrian drama, in a country torn by more than 13 years of a civil war which has left more than half a million dead.
“We are here because we want to know the complete truth about two women and two men who disappeared from this place 11 years and 22 days ago”Yassin Haj Saleh, husband of Samira Khalil, a long-time activist who worked in Douma, told AFP.
Samira Khalil was kidnapped along with Razane Zeitouné, Waël Hamada and Nazem al-Hamadi in December 2013 by unidentified assailants, while they were in the offices of their human rights organization in Douma.
Demonstrators demand answers on the fate of four activists missing since 2013, in Douma, near Damascus, January 1, 2025 / Bakr ALKASEM / AFP
Nicknamed since “Four of Douma”these activists played an essential role in the 2011 uprising against Bashar al-Assad, the repression of which sparked the civil war.
They also documented the abuses of the Salafist group Jaich al-Islam in the city which was taken in 2012 by rebels.
“Close our wounds”
“We have enough evidence to accuse the Jaich al-Islam group, and we have names of suspects that we want to see investigated by a competent authority”continued Yassin Haj Saleh.
No party has claimed responsibility for their kidnapping and no information has since leaked about them.
“We are here because we want the truth about their fate and justice for them, so that we can heal our wounds”Alaa al-Merhi, Samira Khalil’s niece, told AFP in front of the offices of her NGO, transformed into a household appliances store.
Demonstrators demand answers on the fate of four activists missing since 2013, in Douma, near Damascus, January 1, 2025 / Bakr ALKASEM / AFP
A demonstration in the middle of the street was unthinkable just a month ago in Douma, a former rebel stronghold which paid the high price for its uprising against the power of Bashar al-Assad, overthrown by the Islamists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on December 8.
The scars of the conflict are visible everywhere, in the city with its ruined buildings and extreme poverty.
The war in Syria has pitted multiple belligerents against each other, all accused of kidnappings: the overthrown government, but also the ex-rebels and the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group.
