Syria’s first DNA-based identifications offer hope for families of the missing

DNA testing has led to the identification of missing individuals in Syria for the first time in three cases this year, marking a significant breakthrough in efforts to uncover the fate of those who have been missing for years due to the ongoing conflict. Two of the cases were handled by Syria's National Commission for Missing Persons, while the third involved a collaboration between Syrian and international non-governmental organizations who used genetic analysis to identify the remains of a family killed in a suspected airstrike in Raqqa during the war against Islamic State in 2017.

These cases offer hope to families across Syria, where tens of thousands remain unaccounted for after decades of repression under Assad's rule and the 14-year civil war.

The identification of the Raqqa family was accomplished by the Syrian Missing Persons and Forensic Team (SJAC), an independent humanitarian group based in Raqqa that investigates the fate of missing persons in territory previously controlled by Islamic State, and the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG), a non-profit dedicated to investigating unresolved killings during internal conflicts in Central America.

The successful identification has raised expectations for families, demonstrating what is possible with the right collaboration and resources.

In the two other cases, the National Commission confirmed the identities through DNA matching and informed families after experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reviewed the findings. Specific details about the victims and circumstances surrounding their deaths have not been disclosed. The Raqqa investigation focused on the household of Manar Aliwi, whose family had been sheltering in a building in central Raqqa when it was destroyed by airstrikes in August 2017.

Satellite imagery confirmed the building was reduced to rubble, and the family remained unsure whether their relatives died in the building or fled, only to perish elsewhere.

In 2024, demining workers discovered decomposing remains at the site, and Syrian forensic investigators recovered them later that year. Identity documents found at the scene helped locate Aliwi's sister, who confirmed the family's presence in the building during the airstrike. Clothing matching the Aliwi family's attire in a 2017 photograph provided by a relative corroborated the findings.

Genetic samples were collected from family members, and FAFG confirmed that the remains belonged to Aliwi, her husband, and their five children, including a three-year-old. The fate of Aliwi's father remains unknown. The surviving family members were informed of the identifications in September 2026, providing a glimmer of closure for the family after nearly nine years of uncertainty.