Muammar Al Ali, holding a photograph of his brother Ali, who he claims has been missing for nearly four decades, during an interview in Berqayel, Lebanon, on December 6, 2024. – Reuters

BEIRUT, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Muammar Al Ali instantly recognized the bearded man filmed after being released by Syrian rebels from a Hama prison, as his brother Ali, who had been missing for nearly 40 years. "Your heart tells you this is your brother," Al Ali stated at his home in northern Lebanon. Despite seeing a video of him posted online on Thursday, they had not yet managed to contact him. A Syrian journalist in Hama informed them that the man they believed to be Ali had completely lost his memory and could not identify himself.

Ali Al-Ali was arrested at the age of 18 at a checkpoint by the Syrian army during its presence in Lebanon amid the country's 1975-90 civil war, according to his family. They spent decades searching for him, knocking on every door, but to no avail. This changed when Syrian rebels swiftly advanced this week, capturing city after city and freeing thousands of prisoners from the infamous Syrian prison system. Thousands of families now hold hope for reuniting with loved ones held in Syrian prisons during the Assad family's half-century rule.

Over 100,000 Syrians are believed to have gone missing during the country's 13-year insurgency, many held in prison, according to human rights groups. Social media has been inundated with videos of Syrian detainees leaving prisons following the fall of Aleppo, Hama, and Suweida to rebels, with some reuniting with their families. Around 700 Lebanese individuals are also thought to be held in Syria, taken during the three decades Syrian troops were in their country, many detained for their political views. Syrian officials have claimed that there are no more Lebanese prisoners in Syrian jails.

Fatima Kabbara, from northern Lebanon, stated that her brother Mohammed went missing in 1985, kidnapped by a Lebanese militia before being handed over to Syrian authorities. People who managed to escape Syrian detention centers told the family they had seen her brother, a father of three, at a Syrian military intelligence detention center in Damascus. The family had never been able to locate him but now hopes his fate may be uncovered. "We want to know their destiny. If they are dead, we want their remains. And if they are alive, we want them, so our soul comes back to us," she said. "My heart is burning for my brother."

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