Arab News | Syria vows accountability for Deir Ezzor massacre victims on 14th anniversary

DAMASCUS: Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar Al-Wais has vowed to pursue accountability and reparations for victims of the 2012 al-Joura and al-Qusour massacre in Deir Ezzor, saying serious crimes against civilians are not subject to a statute of limitations.

In a statement reported by Syria’s state news agency SANA on Saturday, Al-Wais said the publication of part of an investigation into Daas Hassan Ali, the former head of the State Security branch in Deir Ezzor, showed that serious violations against civilians would not be erased by the passage of time.

“The rights of the victims are a responsibility we bear,” Al-Wais said in a post on X, adding that Syria had moved from remembering the victims’ suffering toward pursuing accountability and reparations.

“We will not rest until justice has fully run its course, the wounds of the bereaved are healed, and we build a more just and equitable future,” he said, according to SANA.

The comments came as Syria marked 14 years since the massacre, which took place over three days beginning Sept. 25, 2012, in the al-Joura and al-Qusour neighborhoods of Deir Ezzor.

According to SANA, forces of the former regime carried out the killings, leaving hundreds of civilians dead and wounded. The National Authority for Transitional Justice also marked the anniversary, with its head, Abdul Basit Abdul Latif, saying victims’ families had the right to know the truth, establish responsibility and obtain justice under the law.

Abdul Latif said Deir Ezzor had “paid a heavy price through the blood of its people” and deserved justice that would preserve the memory of the victims, uncover the truth and establish responsibility.

The renewed focus on the massacre comes amid wider efforts by Syrian authorities to investigate alleged abuses and locate the remains of people killed during the years of conflict.

In June 2025, a mass grave was discovered in the al-Rawwad Residential Villas Project area west of Deir Ezzor city, SANA reported at the time. Civil Defense teams began measures to recover the bodies and establish their identities, while authorities said the site was near former regime security checkpoints.

A Civil Defense source told SANA that scattered graves and bodies could be present in the same area, while investigations into the discovery continued. SANA reported that residents of Deir Ezzor had been subjected to killings and enforced disappearances, with bodies concealed in mass graves in residential areas and elsewhere in the province.

Investigation into former security official

Ali was arrested in 2025 on charges including war crimes and violations against civilians, as well as economic crimes involving the theft and sale of oil, according to SANA.

Investigating Judge Tawfiq al-Ali questioned him in Damascus on Jan. 4 over charges brought by the Public Prosecution. The Justice Ministry has since released part of his testimony as investigations into the 2012 events continue, according to SANA.

The al-Joura and al-Qusour case is among the investigations being pursued as Syria’s transitional authorities seek to document abuses committed during the country’s conflict and establish responsibility for crimes against civilians.

The National Authority for Transitional Justice said the anniversary was not only an occasion to remember the victims but also to reaffirm their families’ rights to truth and justice under the law.