The six children of a Syrian dentist and chess master who has been missing for the past 13 years are presumed dead.
This is the conclusion of a committee in that country that has been tasked with investigating the fate of Bashar al-Assad’s opponents who disappeared during his regime.
The Syrian government raided the home of dentist and chess champion Rania al-Abbasi in 2013 and has not heard from her or her husband and six children since.
300,000 people have disappeared
A change of government took place in Syria in 2024, and the committee has been investigating the fate of those who disappeared during Assad’s rule ever since.
“We have come to the reliable and reasoned conclusion that the six children are now dead,” says the announcement from the committee.
The committee says work is still ongoing to find the children’s remains, but that work is progressing according to the committee.
The committee believes that 300,000 people disappeared during Assad’s rule and that most of them are likely to be dead.
