At Least 81 Bodies Found in Wake of Massacre in Syria’s Aleppo

Govt Reports Many of the Slain Had Been Reported Kidnapped Earlier

by Jason Ditz, January 29, 2013

Scores of bodies are being pulled from the Quweiq River in the Syrian city of Aleppo today, with the current death toll at 81 and the prospect that yet more bodies could be found. All the slain were men, though some were just young teenagers, they were bound and many were shot in the head or neck.

Exactly what happened is still unclear and a matter of no small speculation. The pro-rebel Observatory for Human Rights reported that it was “unclear” who was responsible, though some other factions predictably insisted it was the regime’s doing.

Syrian government reports however, noted that many of the slain were the same people reported kidnapped recently by “terrorists,” and said the families of those victims had been trying to negotiate their releases.

The bodies were found in a rebel-held portion of Aleppo, but it isn’t clear if they were killed there or simply had been dumped in the river somewhere nearby. The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said that bodies were regularly found around the area but never in this quantity.

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