Gravediggers forced to build giant terraced cemetery to cope with the sheer number of people killed in Syria's bloody war

• Daily aerial bombardments have forced gravediggers to dig a large new terraced cemetery
• Douma has regularly been bombarded with Assad regime artillery and air strikes, killing many civilians
• The cemetery has become so full that gravediggers have been forced to wait until the new cemetery is built

By TOM WYKE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 22:23 GMT, 9 November 2015 | UPDATED: 23:17 GMT, 9 November 2015

Daily aerial bombardments have forced gravediggers in one of Syria's most long-suffering suburbs near Damascus to build a giant terraced cemetery in order to bury the bodies of civilians killed in recent days.

The indiscriminate air strikes have led to heavy civilian casualty numbers in Douma, situated close to the Syrian capital, where the Assad regime continues to hold a strong grip on power.

The gravediggers have begun digging into the hard earth and creating a specially layered cemetery to allow the victims to be laid to rest after the old cemetery was filled beyond capacity.

One worker quietly walks through the cemetery, which is now too full to take anymore victims of the horrific war

Final farewell: One mourner knees down to pay his respects to the man before he is buried in the new cemetery

23 people including seven women and six children, were killed following a series of suspected Russian air strikes on Douma.

Despite the civilian deaths, Russian officials deny their airstrikes hit civilians, and say they focus their attacks on militant groups, in particular ISIS.

Yet, the London based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has recorded more deaths among civilians than militants since the Russian air campaign began. 

The news comes as Islamic State militants released 37 Syrian Christians, mostly women on Saturday. They were among more than 200 people from the Assyrian minority group abducted in February, activists said.

The news was confirmed by the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground to monitor the war in Syria

Russia began carrying out airstrikes in Syria on September 30, further complicating a civil war that is now in its fifth year. The conflict has killed 250,000 and displaced nearly half of Syria's pre-war population.

Land of destruction: Civilians run for cover following a devastating air strike in the Douma neighbourhood

Working hard; Men carefully dig out the foundations for the cemetery and lay slabs of concrete in preparation for the fresh graves

Extensive: A general view of the cemetery in the rebel-held town of Douma, east of the Syrian capital Damascus

Horrific: Civilians in the besieged suburb of Douma have repeatedly been hit by barrages of artillery and air strikes over the months

Getting ready: Syrian workers carefully fill trays with fresh mud before leaving the blocks to harden into bricks in the midday Sun.

Hard at work: Using axes and shovels, the local workers have painstaking cut through the hard earth to build the cemetery

Tragic work: The expanding of the cemetery and the need for the graves to be deep underground embodies the horrific nature of the war

Brave man: One worker carries a large makeshift brick made of mud during the construction of the makeshift cemetery

Dressed in blue overalls and with only a checked scarf to protect their heads from the heat, many of the workers struggle in the conditions

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3310789/Gravediggers-forced-build-giant-terraced-cemetery-cope-sheer-number-people-killed-Syria-s-bloody-war.html#ixzz3r3S4l35H