11 years on, Syria protesters demand answers on abducted activists

A few dozen protesters gathered in the Syrian city of Douma on Wednesday demanding answers about the fate of four prominent activists abducted more than a decade ago.

Holding up photographs of the missing activists, the demonstrators called on Syria's new rulers — the Islamist-led rebels who seized power last month — to investigate what happened to them.

"We are here because we want to know the whole truth about two women and two men who were disappeared from this place 11 years and 22 days ago," said activist Yassin Al Haj Saleh, whose wife Samira Khalil was among those abducted.

In December 2013, Khalil, Razan Zeitouneh, Wael Hamada and Nazem Al Hammadi were abducted by unidentified gunmen from the office of a human rights group they ran together in the then rebel-held city outside Damascus.

The four played an active role in the 2011 uprising against Bashar Al Assad's rule and also documented violations by the Islamist rebel group Jaish Al Islam which controlled the Douma area in the early stages of the ensuing civil war.

No group has claimed the four activists' abduction and they have not been heard from since.

Many in Douma blame Jaish Al Islam but the rebel group has denied involvement.

"We have enough evidence to incriminate Jaish Al Islam, and we have the names of suspects we would like to see investigated," Haj Saleh said.

During the conflict, all sides were accused of abducting and summarily executing opponents.