A desperate search is underway for missing Syrians following the release of prisoners from the Saydnaya Military Prison near Damascus. The prison, known as the 'human slaughterhouse' by Amnesty International, was captured by rebel forces who freed around 3,000 detainees.
The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, has deployed specialized teams to search for any remaining prisoners in secret cells or hidden basement rooms within the facility. Despite online speculation about the existence of thousands of additional detainees in deeper levels of the prison, the Association of Detainees & The Missing in Seydnayah Prison (ADMSP) has refuted these claims, stating that all prisoners were released by midday Sunday.
Former Saydnaya detainee Mounir Al-Fakir, a founding partner at ADMSP, mentioned that while the prison does have one underground level of cells, he doubts the presence of hidden layers below that. Rebels who took control of the prison initially encountered detainees behind reinforced doors, but they were eventually freed after the necessary equipment arrived.
The White Helmets continue their search for any potential additional detention areas within the facility, although their efforts have not yielded any new discoveries thus far.
