Syria: Rescuers end search operations inside Assad's Sednaya prison

The Syrian Civil Defence has ended its search operations inside the notorious Sednaya prison near Damascus.

The Syrian Civil Defence, popularly known as the White Helmets, said on Tuesday it had concluded its operation after it sent five teams to search the prison complex for unopened or hidden areas within the facility.

Sending in trained police dog units, the Syrian Civil Defence expressed "profound disappointment" at being unable to find any more prisoners inside Sednaya as thousands of families flocked to the prison to search for any news of loved ones suspected of being held in the facility. 

"Specialised teams from the White Helmets conducted a thorough search of all sections, facilities, basements, courtyards, and surrounding areas of the prison," it said in a statement on Monday evening. 

"We share the profound disappointment of the families of the thousands who remain missing and whose fates remain unknown. We stand in solidarity with the victims' families, fully understanding their anguish and their longing for answers about their loved ones." 

Their statement deals a heavy blow to Syrian families still searching for answers as fighters and citizens alike continue to scour the country in search of relatives disappeared by Bashar al-Assad's forces.  

Late on Monday, rescuers found dozens of bodies inside Harasta hospital, with human rights groups suggesting they were detainees from Sednaya prison.

Among the bodies found was Mazen Hamada, a Syrian activist arrested for smuggling baby formula into Damascus, and tortured by Assad's forces.  

Hamada fled Syria and gained asylum in the Netherlands where he became a high-profile critic of Assad and spoke of the torture he had endured at the hands of his security forces. 

The Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) told AFP that Harasta hospital served "as the main centre for collecting the bodies of detainees." 

"Bodies would be sent there from Saydnaya prison or Tishrin Hospital, and from Harasta, they would be transferred to mass graves," said Diab Serriya, the co-founder of ADMSP. 

Torture and rape inside Sednaya

Primarily used to house political prisoners, Sednaya has gained a reputation for its brutality, with former prisoners describing torture and rape taking place inside the prison. 

Following the fall of Assad, thousands rushed to Sednaya on Sunday evening and blocked roads leading up to the prison on the outskirts of Damascus to search for their relatives and loved ones. 

Opposition fighters who gained access to the prison recorded videos that showed hundreds of people cramped inside narrow cells as fighters and rescuers used hammers and Kalashnikovs to break open the cells. 

Among the people freed from Sednaya included women and children detained in cramped cells. 

Fighters also struggled to enter the "red wing" of the prison in the underground floors with freed prisoners saying guards needed special codes to access certain parts. 

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Raed Saleh, who heads the White Helmets, described the prison as "hell" for those detained inside it and said rescuers had helped free 20,000 to 25,000 prisoners from Sednaya on Monday. 

Saleh added that rescuers saw bodies in ovens, saying daily executions took place inside the facility, and added that no "hidden chambers" had been found inside. 

Sednaya was dubbed the "human slaughterhouse" by an Amnesty International report in 2017, while a 2014 Human Rights Watch also corroborated the claims made in Amnesty's report.