This Is a Satellite Photo of a Probable Mass Grave in Syria

A U.S. government website has published what it says are before-and-after satellite photos showing a probable mass grave in Syria, following a horrific massacre in the town of Houla.

(Related: ‘I Put My Brother’s Blood All Over Me and Acted Like I Was Dead’: Syrian Boy Describes Family’s Massacre)

The site, humanrights.gov, is managed by the State Department. A series of images said to be taken last week by commercial satellite companies also appear to show attack helicopters and artillery deployed near towns.

But it's the main photo, shown in color, that is most arresting: One half, labeled May 18, 2012, shows a "cleared, dirt area." The other half, labeled May 28, 2012, is what appears to be the same area, now captioned: "probable newly dug graves/trenches."

From the site:

This image shows a May 18, 2012 photo of a square in Tall Daww, Haoula in Syria side-by-side with a May 28, 2012 image of the same square. The dotted area in the May 28, 2012 image shows that the ground had been recently disturbed which tracks with the May 26 BBC image from the same location.

More than 100 people, including about 40 children, were killed last weekend in Houla, a group of poor farming villages in Syria’s central Homs province. Activists said pro-regime fighters stormed the villages, shooting men in the streets and stabbing women and children in their homes.

(h/t Atlantic Wire)