In post-Daesh Raqqah, slain locals await proper burials

RAQQA, SYRIA - OCTOBER 18: It has been a year since Syria's Raqqa province, once known as a Daesh stronghold, came under the control of the YPG/PKK terrorist group.Today, the bodies of slain civilians -- found in numerous mass graves -- are being prepared for proper burials.The YPG/PKK seized the war-torn province -- with U.S. air cover -- on Oct. 17 of last year.Throughout the last 12 months, numerous mass graves have been found in the city based on information obtained from the families of the missing.Raqqa’s so-called “civil assembly”, set up in an attempt to justify the YPG/PKK’s ongoing occupation of the city, has granted some Arab residents positions on the assembly to give the impression that the local community has a say in the city’s administration.Ilyas Hamish, a member of the civil assembly responsible for issues related to the mass graves, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the local authorities had found most of the graves based on information provided by grieving families."We are currently working in the city’s Old Mosque district, where there appear to be 50 to 80 bodies," he said.Noting that most of the bodies had been improperly buried, Hamish said that 30 of them had since been disinterred and were now being prepared for reburial.Mahmoud Ahmad, who was forced to bury his child in the area, said his son was killed by a U.S. airstrike.“We buried my son here when airstrikes were raining down on Raqqa and we couldn't take him to a proper cemetery,” Ahmad lamented.He went on to recount how he and his family had fled Raqqa after the hasty burial of his son.“We thought of it [his son’s burial] as a temporary solution. But upon our return, we encountered great difficulty finding the burial site again,” he said.“There were only four people buried here back then; now there are more than 100,” he added. (Footage by Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
RAQQA, SYRIA - OCTOBER 18: It has been a year since Syria's Raqqa province, once known as a Daesh stronghold, came under the control of the YPG/PKK terrorist group.Today, the bodies of slain civilians -- found in numerous mass graves -- are being prepared for proper burials.The YPG/PKK seized the war-torn province -- with U.S. air cover -- on Oct. 17 of last year.Throughout the last 12 months, numerous mass graves have been found in the city based on information obtained from the families of the missing.Raqqa’s so-called “civil assembly”, set up in an attempt to justify the YPG/PKK’s ongoing occupation of the city, has granted some Arab residents positions on the assembly to give the impression that the local community has a say in the city’s administration.Ilyas Hamish, a member of the civil assembly responsible for issues related to the mass graves, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the local authorities had found most of the graves based on information provided by grieving families."We are currently working in the city’s Old Mosque district, where there appear to be 50 to 80 bodies," he said.Noting that most of the bodies had been improperly buried, Hamish said that 30 of them had since been disinterred and were now being prepared for reburial.Mahmoud Ahmad, who was forced to bury his child in the area, said his son was killed by a U.S. airstrike.“We buried my son here when airstrikes were raining down on Raqqa and we couldn't take him to a proper cemetery,” Ahmad lamented.He went on to recount how he and his family had fled Raqqa after the hasty burial of his son.“We thought of it [his son’s burial] as a temporary solution. But upon our return, we encountered great difficulty finding the burial site again,” he said.“There were only four people buried here back then; now there are more than 100,” he added. (Footage by Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Restrictions:
NO SALES IN AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY, MIDDLE EAST AND THE BALKANS.
Editorial #:
1056328490
Collection:
Anadolu
Date created:
18 October, 2018
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Licence type:
Rights-ready
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Not released. More information
Clip length:
00:04:56:17
Location:
Syria
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QuickTime 8-bit H.264 HD 1920x1080 25p
Source:
Anadolu Agency Video
Object name:
aa_16670306.mov