People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus on December 16, 2024. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 100,000 people died in Syria's jails and detention centres from 2011. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)