Three Arrested Over Tadamon Massacre in Damascus

The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Three Arrested Over Tadamon Massacre in Damascus

The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Damascus Security Chief Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Dabbagh announced on Monday the arrest of a key figure involved in the 2013 massacre in the Tadamon district of Damascus, along with two other individuals who participated in the killings.

Al-Dabbagh stated that the suspects confessed to their involvement in a series of atrocities in the area, where more than 500 men and women were executed.

“After monitoring and investigation, we were able to apprehend one of the key criminals responsible for the 12-year-old Tadamon massacre in Damascus,” Al-Dabbagh said, according to the official news agency SANA.

“Following initial interrogations, we identified several other individuals involved in the massacre and arrested two of them,” he added.

Al-Dabbagh further stated that the three detainees confessed to their participation in the atrocities in Tadamon, where more than 500 men and women were executed without trial or charge.

“We are now coordinating with the relevant authorities to locate the sites of these massacres,” confirmed Al-Dabbagh.

“We assure the people of Syria that these criminals will not escape justice, and we will work to bring them before the courts to face a fair trial,” he said.

Al-Dabbagh did not disclose the identities of the three detainees. However, SANA later reported that one of them is named “Monzer Ahmad al-Jazairi” and that he has been referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation.

In a report published on April 27, 2022, The Guardian revealed details of a massacre carried out by Bashar al-Assad’s forces on April 16, 2013 in the Tadamon district.

The attack resulted in the deaths of around 41 people, who were subsequently buried in a mass grave.



Syrian Govt Visits Notorious Al-Hol Camp for First Time Since Kurds Deal

A view of the Al-Hol camp. (AFP file)
A view of the Al-Hol camp. (AFP file)
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Syrian Govt Visits Notorious Al-Hol Camp for First Time Since Kurds Deal

A view of the Al-Hol camp. (AFP file)
A view of the Al-Hol camp. (AFP file)

A Syrian government delegation visited a notorious camp in the Kurdish-administered northeast that hosts families of suspected ISIS group members, the new authorities' first visit, both sides said Saturday.

Kurdish-run camps and prisons in the northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to ISIS, more than five years after the group’s territorial defeat in Syria.

Kurdish administration official Sheikhmous Ahmed said "a tripartite meeting was held on Saturday in the Al-Hol camp" that included a government delegation, another from the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS, and Kurdish administration members.

Al-Hol is northeast Syria's largest camp, housing some 37,000 people from dozens of countries, including 14,500 Iraqis, in dire conditions.

Discussions involved "establishing a mechanism for removing Syrian families from Al-Hol camp", Ahmed said.

The visit comes more than two months after interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, agreed to integrate the Kurds' civil and military institutions into the national government.

The deal also involved guaranteeing the return of all Syrians to their hometowns and villages.

No progress has yet been reported on the administration's integration into the new government.

In Damascus, interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba told reporters Al-Hol is "part of the agreement" signed by Sharaa and Abdi.

He said the issue requires "a comprehensive societal solution for the families who are victims" of ISIS.

In February, the Kurdish administration said that in coordination with the United Nations, it aimed to empty camps in the northeast of thousands of displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees, including suspected relatives of extremists, by the end of the year.

Al-Hol includes a high-security section for families of foreign ISIS fighters.

Ahmed said the fate of those families "is linked to the countries that have nationals (in the camp), and to the international coalition", which supported Kurdish-led forces who fought ISIS, detaining its fighters and their relatives.

The Kurds have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens, but foreign governments have allowed home only a trickle, fearing security threats and a domestic political backlash.

It is unclear who will administer prisons holding thousands of ISIS fighters in the northeast, with Abdi saying in February the new authorities wanted them under Damascus's control.