Sednaya Prison

A delegation from the Turkish parliament will visit the notorious Saydnaya prison in Syria on Dec. 30, following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government.

Syria's security forces launched an operation on Thursday against pro-Assad "militias" in the western province of Tartus a day after deadly clashes with gunmen affiliated with the former government.

A team of Turkish rescuers began an in-depth search of Syria's infamous Saydnaya prison on Dec. 16, a spokesman for Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has announced.

Located just north of Damascus, the prison has become a symbol of the rights abuses of the Assad clan, especially since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

The United States has evidence the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has built a crematorium at a large military prison outside the capital Damascus, a State Department official said on May 15.

The Syrian government on May 16 denied the accusations.

The United States has evidence the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has built a crematorium at a large military prison outside the capital Damascus, a State Department official said on May 15.

The Syrian government and rebel groups swapped dozens of women prisoners and hostages, some of them with their children, in Hama province on the evening of Feb. 7, a monitor and a rebel official said, according to Reuters. 

As many as 13,000 people were hanged in five years at a notorious Syrian government prison near Damascus, Amnesty International said on Feb. 7, accusing the regime of a "policy of extermination."