US State Department: Syria destroys bodies of executed people in crematoriums
The US State Department says the Syrian government has built crematoriums at the notorious Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus and is using them to exterminate thousands of prisoners, regularly executing them inside the prison facility.
According to the Washington Post, Stuart Jones, acting US assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, said on Monday, May 15, that at least 50 people are executed daily in this notorious prison, including through mass hangings.
A recent Amnesty International report called Saydnaya prison a “human slaughterhouse” and said thousands of Syrians were kidnapped, detained, and “eliminated” there.
According to Jones, the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has committed these atrocities "with the unconditional support of Russia and Iran."
He said the initial information came from non-governmental and human rights sources, as well as "security reports."
Jones said that last week, during a visit to Washington by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that "Russia must now use its influence over the Syrian regime with great urgency."
Source: Voice of America
