DAMASCUS: The Syrian Arabic Republic’s security forces have arrested a former military officer and three other individuals accused of crimes committed during the rule of former president Bashar Assad, as part of an expanding campaign against remnants of the deposed regime.
The Interior Ministry said security forces arrested retired Brig. Gen. Abdul Ghaffar Al-Hussein following surveillance of his movements, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
According to the ministry, preliminary investigations indicate that Al-Hussein was involved in violations during his command of the 66th Regiment and while overseeing a security checkpoint in Daraa province, where hundreds of residents were detained.
Authorities also accuse him of participating in military operations in several areas, and involvement in cases that led to the arrest and disappearance of civilians.
The ministry said investigations showed that after retiring in 2015, Al-Hussein allegedly became involved in corruption networks and the embezzlement of public funds through connections within administrative and service sectors.
In a separate announcement, the Interior Ministry said it had arrested three individuals accused of involvement in crimes against residents of Deir Ezzor province during the rule of the former regime.
The arrests are part of ongoing efforts to pursue those who committed crimes under Assad’s government, the ministry said, describing the campaign as consistent with principles of accountability, transitional justice and the rights of victims and their families.
The latest detentions come days after authorities announced the arrest of 10 former regime operatives in security operations across the Daraa, Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
According to the ministry, those detained included a former commander of the First Corps and former head of the security and military committee in southern Syria, a former guard at the notorious Saydnaya prison accused of abuses against detainees, and a former Republican Guard officer.
Earlier this week, security forces in Latakia arrested Osama Mahmoud Hamouda, a former non-commissioned officer accused of participating in violations against civilians and attempting to flee the country with the help of criminal networks.
Syrian Attorney General Hassan Al-Turba has said that prosecuting major offenders through the courts was essential to achieving transitional justice.
He said authorities are coordinating efforts to identify suspects, prevent their escape and pursue fugitives through international legal mechanisms while strengthening witness-protection measures and judicial capacity.
“Prosecuting major criminals is not merely a judicial procedure,” Al-Turba said.
