Queiq river massacre in Syria commemorated in İstanbul

Queiq river massacre in Syria commemorated in İstanbul
Lamiya Adilgizi & Julia Nho, Today's Zaman (Istanbul), 29 Jan 2014

The Syrian Institute for Justice (SIJ) and No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) have marked the first anniversary of the Queiq river massacre that was allegedly carried out by the Syrian regime near Aleppo in Northern Syria last year. They stated that the evidence uncovered by an investigation carried over the year shows that it is likely state-sponsored forces committed these atrocities with an intention to terrorize the population and opposition forces.
“Over the year citizens of Syria have witnessed many massacres and many atrocities. Today we commemorate one of them which is in some ways special, special in a way that the massacre was not a single massacre but was prolonged, sustained, systematic killing of civilians who were abducted at check-points of the regime and who over a number of weeks day by day were killed as part of massive and systematic attacks. And the Queiq River speaks about that atrocity by delivering dead bodies,” Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, secretary general of NPWJ said in a press conference held in İstanbul on Wednesday.
The Queiq River massacre came to light on Jan. 29, 2013, when 90 bodies were found floating on the river. Bodies continued to appear in the river until March 15 when the Syrian non-governmental organization SIJ carried out the investigation with the help of local authorities and various forensic experts, who were able to stop the flow of water to prevent the dumping of bodies. Around 40 bodies were washed about 20 kilometers down to the river in countryside south of Aleppo. SIJ and the local residents ware able to find most of the bodies, wash them, examine and prepare them for identification. According to the investigation, more than 220 people were killed and thrown from trucks into the Queiq River.
These victims lived in opposition-controlled areas and were, according to those who participated in the investigation, often abducted at regime-controlled checkpoints, or simply went missing from their workplaces and homes. Days or weeks later, their bodies were found floating in the river, showing evidence of trauma and execution, most with their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths covered with adhesive tape.
Discussing the outcome of the investigation, Yousef Houran, attorney and co-director of SIJ, stated that the investigation showed that although the Syrian regime and opposition forces have contradictory claims, the evidence shows that the bodies are civilians. This is clear from the clothing they were wearing and their occupations, which included vegetable sellers, factory workers, shop keepers and other jobs of this nature, Houran claimed.
 “All bodies found and examined had signs of beatings and torture, injuries that were inflicted prior to death,” Houran said while showing the pictures of bodies retrieved from the water.
Only 60 bodies have so far been successfully identified. While most of the victims were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, the bodies included boys, women, and old men from 11 to 70. At least one victim had mental disabilities, according to the investigation records. Despite such evidence, the Syrian regime rejects all claims on such perpetrated systematic torture and killing. It has been reported that 200,000 Syrians have been killed in the continuing civil war since 2011, which started with peaceful protests but escalated into a bloody conflict. The investigation concluded that the massacre had been committed by the regime, not by the opposition forces. The video footage of dead bodies flowing down the river from areas controlled by the ruling regime is sufficient proof of this, according to Talamanca. He attributed the atrocities to a desire to “terrorize the civilian inhabitants so that the opposition forces lose the support from its people." Hence, the SIJ emphasized that its aim is to have the victims' voice heard and reveal the truth of the regime's systemic violence conducted on its own people.

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