Lebanese 'mass grave' is village graveyard

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A burial site in eastern Lebanon originally believed to be a mass grave for victims of Syria's military presence is actually a graveyard dating to the 17th century, the Lebanese prosecutor said in a statement published Wednesday. Syria ended its nearly three-decade-long military presence in Lebanon last year. The remains of at least 28 people discovered in December in the Bekaa Valley town of Anjar ranged from 50-350 years old, Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza said. "The remains found ... are part of an ordinary cemetery used by Muslims who lived in the village to bury their dead," said the statement by Mirza published by local newspapers Wednesday. None of the remains were dated after the year 1950.