In addition to thousands that have been killed outright, tens of thousands more may have died as vast numbers of detainees lived through conditions of neglect and abuse in packed, dirty cells, conditions so severe that a United Nations commission found that they amounted to the crime against humanity of “extermination.”

The New York Times has confirmed that such conditions are widespread through dozens of interviews with survivors and their relatives, and with former officials.

Beginning in 2013, The Times heard multiple accounts from residents in and around Damascus who said they detected the scent of something like burning hair. That led some to suspect that bodies were being burned in nearby security facilities like the Mezze airport, where former detainees have reported seeing bodies burned.

Other witnesses have told of government soldiers and militiamen burning the bodies of those killed in the field. Some cases, like the massacre of civilians in Baniyas and Bayda in 2013, have been documented in multiple videos.

Mr. de Mistura opened the latest round of talks in Geneva by meeting with Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, on Tuesday morning, before having lunch with Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Gennady Gatilov, and heading into a series of meetings with Syrian parties, starting with the head of the Syrian opposition delegation, Nasr al-Hariri, and members of the opposition High Negotiations Committee.

To make the most of the few days set aside for this round of discussions, United Nations officials said Mr. Jaafari was likely to return for a second session with the special envoy in the evening.

United Nations officials said on Monday that they had reason to believe the current Geneva talks would be more substantive than previous ones. Mr. de Mistura said that more countries would participate this time — he said all the signatories to the Security Council resolution would attend, which would include Iran as well as Russia — and that the intention was “to go a little bit more deeply and actually be more businesslike.”</s>Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 10:28 am |

YERUSHALAYIM - The time has come to eliminate Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, according to Housing Minister Yoav Galant. Speaking at a defense conference in Tel Aviv Tuesday, Galant, former head of the IDF’s Southern Command, said that “he is a despicable murderer who is responsible for genocide of a nation. It’s time to eliminate him.”

The comments come a day after American revelations that Assad was eliminating as many as 50 of his opponents each day. The State Department said that detainees opposed to Assad’s rule were being hanged at a military prison north of Damascus. The bodies were then being cremated in order to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place,” said Stuart Jones, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East.

Galant said that as bad as Syria was, it was just a minor player in the drama of evil unfolding in the Middle East – and that when Assad was gone, the next target needed to be his sponsor, Iran. “When we are finished with the tail of the snake, we will be able to get to its head, in Tehran,” said Galant.

“The pathetic leaders who demand the destruction of Israel such as Assad and his handlers in Tehran have no right to exist,” added Galant.

“The world needs to send the ‘Shiite monster’ that Tehran represents back to its corner.”</s>An Israeli cabinet member on Tuesday claimed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should not simply be removed from office -- he should be killed.

“The reality of the situation in Syria is that they are executing people, using directed chemical attacks against them, and the latest extreme — burning their corpses, something we haven’t seen in 70 years,” Yoav Gallant said in a speech, referencing the Holocaust.

Gallant, a retired IDF general, said reports of the Syrian president executing prisoners and burning their bodies “crosses a red line”and is “nothing less than a genocide,” with “hundreds of thousands killed.”

He said Assad needed to die before Israel could fully confront any threats from Iran, one of Syria's closest allies. “Once we'll be done with the tail of the snake, we will be able to deal with its head in Tehran,” he continued.

ISIS ON 'BRINK OF TOTAL DEFEAT' IN MOSUL, COALITION SPOKESMAN SAYS

In a conversation with The Times of Israel after his speech, Gallant stood by his comments. He acknowledged that targeted political assassinations are considered illegal under international law, but clarified that he “wasn’t speaking about practicalities.”

However, he added, “Anyone who murders people and burns their corpses does not have a place in this world.”

SYRIAN REGIME USING CREMATORIUM TO 'COVER UP' MASS MURDERS, STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS

On Monday, the U.S. revealed evidence that the Syrian regime conducted mass killings of thousands of political opponents and burned the bodies to hide the evidence. State Department officials said Syria was hanging about 50 detainees each day at Saydnaya military prison, about 45 minutes north of Damascus, before burning them in a crematorium.

The accusation came as President Donald Trump weighed options to try to bring an end to Syria's civil war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>An Israeli minister on Tuesday called for the assassination of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, adding that the latter’s regime was the worst since Nazi Germany.

Minister of Housing and Construction Yoav Galant, a former commander of the Israel Defence Forces and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet since 2015, said at a conference near Jerusalem that al-Assad needed to be killed, Efe news reported.

“The reality of the situation in Syria is that they are executing people, using directed chemical attacks against them, and the latest extreme…burning their corpses, something we haven’t seen in 70 years,” Galant said, in a reference to the systematic genocide of six million Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Galant also used the actual term “genocide” to describe Assad’s actions against his own people, adding that “hundreds of thousands” were being killed by the Syrian regime in the country’s ongoing civil war.

“In my view, we are crossing a red line. And in my view, the time has come to assassinate Assad. It’s as simple as that,” he added.</s>Israeli housing Minister Yoav Galant has openly called for the assassination of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This is the first time an Israeli Minister has called for the killing of the Syrian President.

“We are crossing a red line, and in my view the time has come to assassinate Assad. And when we finish with the tail of the serpent, we will reach the head of the serpent which can be found in Tehran, and we will deal with it, too”.

The last part of the quote appears to be a call for war against Iran.

Such a crass and barbaric call to assassinate world leaders has no place in the 21st century.

It is imperative that the United Nations condemns Israel for these despicable remarks.</s>The Syrian regime is using a site outside Damascus to cremate the bodies of thousands of prisoners it has abducted, jailed and murdered during the country’s long-running civil war, the U.S. State Department alleged Monday.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Stuart Jones showed surveillance photos that -- combined with intelligence assessments and other reports -- officials believe show Bashar Assad’s government is complicit in covering up evidence of mass killings at the Sednaya Prison. Located near Damascus, the prison previously has been called a "human slaughterhouse" by Amnesty International.

“Although the regime's many atrocities are well-documented, we believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place in Sednaya prison,” Jones said Monday.

Jones also charged that the “atrocities” were carried out “with unconditional support” from Russia and Iran.

The department released commercial satellite photographs showing what it said is a building in the prison complex that has been modified to support the crematorium. The photographs taken over the course of several years, beginning in 2013, do not definitely prove the building is a crematorium, but they show construction consistent with such use.

The U.S. conclusion is based in part on photos that show snow melting near the building believed to be the crematorium. But, when pressed, the State Department wouldn’t say for certain that the melting was caused by a crematorium.

The conditions at Sednaya – known to hold many of Assad’s political opponents, as well as violent Syrian rebels – are thought to be horrific, with 70 prisoners kept in cells designed for five people and up to 50 executions per day.

Amnesty International has previously called Sednaya a “human slaughterhouse,” estimating 13,000 people were killed there from 2011-2015. It is believed Assad's regime kidnapped more than 100,000 people during that time.

In presenting the photographs, Jones said Syrian President Assad's government "has sunk to a new level of depravity" with the support of Russia and Iran and called on both countries to use its influence with Syria to establish a credible ceasefire and begin political talks.

Fox News’ Rich Edson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>(AP) – A senior Israeli official has called for President Bashar Assad to be assassinated over alleged atrocities in the Syrian civil war. Housing Minister Yoav Galant, a former general, said Tuesday: “As far as I am concerned it is time to assassinate Assad.”

He said “when we finish with the tail of the snake we can reach the head of the snake sitting in Tehran and deal with it as well.” Iran is a close ally of the Syrian government. His remarks came a day after the United States accused Syria of mass killings at a prison near Damascus. Syria denied the allegations.

Galant says a “genocide” is underway in Syria, where an estimated 400,000 people have been killed and half the population has been displaced by a six-year-old civil war.</s>Bashar Assad is as evil as his old man was and will defend his grip on Syria down to the last Syrian.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has installed a crematorium in his most infamous prison complex in order to hide evidence of mass murder, and is executing as many as 50 people per day, according to newly-declassified U.S. intelligence.

“We now believe that the Syrian regime has installed a crematorium in the Saydnaya Prison Complex which could dispose of detainees remains with little evidence,” Stuart Jones, the acting assistant secretary of near eastern affairs, told reporters Monday at the State Department. “Although the regimes’ many atrocities are well-documented, we believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place in Saydnaya prison.”

Saydnaya Prison was branded a “human slaughterhouse” by Amnesty International, which estimates that as many as 13,000 people “were extrajudicially executed” between 2011 and 2015.

Jones added that the regime will put up to 70 prisoners in a cell designed to hold five people before they are killed. The State Department released the additional information in order to put pressure on Russia, which has provided Assad with crucial support.

“Russia holds tremendous influence over Bashar al-Assad,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Monday. “The killing and devastation has gone on for far too long in Syria.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin backs Assad because the regime has given Russia strategic benefits, such as access to a naval port on the Mediterranean Sea. Putin’s team is hosting a peace talks process in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the goal of ending the Syrian civil war in a way that allows them to retain the geopolitical benefits that first drew them to Assad. Former President Barack Obama’s team was not involved in those talks, and preferred a United Nations forum, but President Trump sent Jones to attend a conference in the first week of May.</s>Time To Assassinate Syrian President Has Come – Israeli Minister, Yoav Galant

The Isreali Minister of Housing and Construction, Yoav Galant has called for the assassination of the Syrian President, Bashar Assad. Yoav Galant who made the call days after the United States Department accused the Syrian president of carrying out mass killings of thousands of prisoners and burning the bodies in a large crematorium outside the…

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Also, Like us on facebook</s>The Trump administration on Monday accused the Syrian government of installing a crematorium at a prison outside Syria's capital for the disposal of thousands of bodies of prisoners executed in mass killings.

A State Department official said that the U.S. believes Syrian President Bashar Assad is using the crematorium to cover up mass murders at the prison complex, Reuters reported.

"We now believe that the Syrian regime has installed a crematorium in the Sednaya prison complex which could dispose of detainees’ remains with little evidence," Stuart Jones said. "Credible sources have believed that many of the bodies have been disposed in mass graves."

In light of the information about the mass killings, Jones said that Russia's calls for "de-escalation zones" in the country would be met with "skepticism."

"In light of the failures of the past ceasefire agreements, we have reason to be skeptical," he said. "The regime must stop all attacks on civilian and opposition forces."

A report by the international rights group Amnesty International found that between 25 and 50 executions are performed at the prison every week. The complex is located just 45 minutes outside Syria's capital of Damascus, the seat of the Assad government's power.

President Trump ordered airstrikes on a Syrian airfield last month after Assad used chemical weapons on civilians, including children.
Israeli Minister of Construction Yoav Galant states that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be assassinated. Yesterday, the United States Department of State accused the al-Assad government of using a crematory at Sednaya Prison to cover up the mass murders of thousands of political prisoners. The Syrian government denies the accusations.