Missing Syrian chess champion’s children likely dead, authorities say

Syrian commission confirms the deaths of Rania al-Abbasi’s six children, missing since 2013 under Bashar al-Assad’s rule.Syria’s National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP) says the children of dentist and former chess champion Rania al‑Abbasi, who disappeared with their parents more than a decade ago under then-President Bashar al-Assad, are likely dead.“We have reached reliable and corroborating results that allow us to conclude with a high degree of professional certainty that Dr Rania al-Abbasi’s children are deceased,” the NCMP said in a statement on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Syria puts first Assad-era official on trial in Damascuslist 2 of 3Down but not out: In war with Israel, Hezbollah shows it is still powerfullist 3 of 3From exile to judge: Symbolism in Syria’s trial of Assad, former officialsend of listThe fate of the children, unknown for years, became a symbol of the plight of other missing children of detainees and those forcibly disappeared during al-Assad’s rule, which ended with his ouster in 2024.Al-Abbasi went missing along with her husband, Abdul Rahman Yasin, and their six children, aged three to 15, in March 2013 after government forces raided their home in Damascus, according to rights groups.The commission, set up by the country’s new rulers in May 2025 to investigate missing and forcibly disappeared people, said its findings were “based on multiple verification and analysis procedures” conducted in coordination with national authorities.“Efforts to find the remains … are still ongoing,” it added.Hassan al-Abbasi, Rania’s brother, confirmed the children’s deaths in a video posted on Facebook.He said the family had been able to view video recordings linked to the main suspect in a 2013 massacre in a Damascus district, including one showing him accusing children in a dark room of being “major financiers of terrorism”.