The Syrian Ministry of Interior reported on Friday the arrest of Amjad Youssef, the main accused of committing a massacre in the Tadamon neighborhood in Damascus in 2013. The massacre, which killed dozens of people by shooting them at close range and then burning their bodies, was documented with video scenes. The ministry said in a statement that it carried out a "tight security operation" during which it "arrested the criminal Amjad Youssef, the first accused of committing the Tadamon massacre in the city of Damascus. The authorities confirmed their intention to "pursue the rest of the perpetrators of the massacre, to arrest them and bring them to justice."

Published on: 04/24/2026 - 12:15

The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Friday that it was able to arrest Amjad Youssef, the main accused of committing a massacre in the Tadamon neighborhood in Damascus in 2013. Dozens of people were killed by being shot at close range and then their bodies burned, and it was documented with video scenes.

Amjad Youssef appeared in a video clip leaked years ago in military clothing, ordering people who were blindfolded and had their hands tied to run, and when they started running, they were shot and thrown into a pit in which bodies were piled up.

After 41 young men and women were killed, the bodies were burned.

Read also: After “Al-Assadiya”: Is it possible to build a state of citizenship in Syria?... An interview with Ahmed Barqawi

The leaking of the video at that time caused widespread uproar and dissatisfaction on Arabic-language social media pages and around the world.

The Ministry of Interior stated in a statement on Friday that it had carried out a “tight security operation” during which it “arrested the criminal Amjad Youssef, the first accused of committing the Tadamon massacre in the city of Damascus, which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent martyrs.”

It confirmed its intention to "pursue the rest of the perpetrators of the massacre, to arrest them and bring them to justice."

In a post on X, Interior Minister Anas Khattab wrote, “The criminal Amjad Youssef, the first accused of committing the Tadamon massacre, is in our custody after a tight security operation.”

In late April 2022, the British newspaper The Guardian and the New Lines Institute in Washington published articles and video clips revealing the execution of dozens of people at the hands of the forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus.

After the fall of Assad, families from the neighborhood reported several massacres committed by his forces in the early years of the conflict. Last year, the new authorities announced the arrest of a number of those involved.

The fate of tens of thousands of missing and detainees in Syria, and the mass graves in which the previous regime is believed to have buried detainees who died under torture, constitute one of the most prominent aspects of the Syrian tragedy after a conflict that caused the death of more than half a million people.

The new administration announces from time to time the arrest of military and security officials from the previous regime, who were involved in committing atrocities and crimes against Syrians during the years of conflict.

France 24/AFP

Keywords related to the article

The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.