Tens of thousands of Syrians missing

The Syrian state and allied militia have detained and abducted tens of thousands of people since 2011 in a campaign of enforced disappearances that is a crime against humanity, Amnesty International said in a report.

The rights watchdog interviewed relatives of the disappeared who said they had been forced to pay bribes to middlemen with close ties to the authorities to gain information on the fate of their family members, fuelling a lucrative black market.

Amnesty said it had attempted to engage with the Syrian authorities on the issue of forced disappearances and was awaiting a response.