Syrian Regime Detains Criminal Involved in Tadamon Massacre

 A still image from the leaked video showing Amjad Youssef executing a civilian man after pushing him into the pre-dug mass grave (New Lines Magazine)
A still image from the leaked video showing Amjad Youssef executing a civilian man after pushing him into the pre-dug mass grave (New Lines Magazine)
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Syrian Regime Detains Criminal Involved in Tadamon Massacre

 A still image from the leaked video showing Amjad Youssef executing a civilian man after pushing him into the pre-dug mass grave (New Lines Magazine)
A still image from the leaked video showing Amjad Youssef executing a civilian man after pushing him into the pre-dug mass grave (New Lines Magazine)

The Syrian regime detained Amjad Youssef, an officer in the Syrian security forces, who massacred dozens of Syrians and raped dozens of women in the Tadamon neighborhood in Damascus, according to a report issued Monday by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

“The Syrian regime is now keeping Youssef in custody,” the Network said.

However, it added that the detention process was not carried out according to a judicial warrant based on a specific charge, explaining that Youssef has not been referred to the judiciary and that the Syrian regime has not issued any information indicating his arrest.

At the end of April 2022, New Lines, a magazine specialized in the Middle East affairs, published an investigation revealing that Youssef was working for Military Intelligence’s District Branch, also known as Branch 227 and was responsible for the arrest, torture and killing of thousands in the Tadamon neighborhood.

Youssef had confessed to the mass killing.

Fadel Abdul Ghany, founder and chairman of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian regime would not have detained Amjad Youssef if regime bodies had not been involved in this atrocity at the highest levels.

He said the Network received information that the Syrian regime had detained Youssef a month ago, following the publication of his confessions.

“This reveals that high-ranking regime officials are involved in these crimes and that Youssef is just a small part of an integrated system,” Abdul Ghany said.

He said the regime fears that more of those involved in similar crimes will be exposed, and, for this end, the regime might hide Amjad for life or kill him after he confessed his offenses.

Abdul Ghany also said that the regime did not arrest any security services involved in committing similar atrocious violations nor did it hold anyone accountable.

“The Syrian regime protects violators, and in some cases promotes them, so that they’re aware that their own fate is always linked to the regime’s fate, and defending it becomes an essential part of defending themselves,” he said.

According to the Network’s report, the Syrian regime has systematically used enforced disappearance as one of its most prominent tools of repression and terrorism aimed at crushing and annihilating political opponents simply for expressing their opinion.

It said Youssef and thousands of other members of the regime’s security services and army forces would not have committed such atrocious violations had they not been part of a deliberate policy implemented at the direct orders of Assad.

The report called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the fate of the forcibly disappeared persons in Syria and to act to end torture and deaths inside Syrian regime detention centers.

The Syrian Network report also raised concern over the fate of 87,000 people documented as being forcibly disappeared in regime prisons, which may be similar to that suffered by the victims in al Tadamun neighborhood.

It showed that the Syrian regime has detained, and continues to detain, at least 131,469 of the people arrested since March 2011, with 86,792 of this number classified as forcibly disappeared persons, including 1,738 children and 4,986 women.



Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
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Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)

Baghdad has been preoccupied this week with serious possibilities that Israel may expand its war on Gaza and Lebanon by striking several targets in Iraq in retaliation to attacks by Iran-backed armed factions.

Concern has been high that Israel may attack government buildings, oil fields and strategic locations, not just the positions of the armed factions that have previously launched attacks against Israel, said sources close to the pro-Iran ruling Coordination Framework.

Media sources have spoken of government speculation that Iraq could come under “300 Israeli attacks”.

The fears in Iraq have been compounded by an Israeli complaint to the United Nations Security Council against seven armed factions and holding Baghdad responsible for the attacks they have carried out against it.

This prompted the government, through the foreign ministry, to send an official letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation in response to the Israeli threats.

The ministry said on Saturday that Iraq is “the cornerstone of stability in the region and world and it is one of the countries that are most committed to the UN Charter.”

“The Zionist entity’s letter to the Security Council is part of a systematic policy aimed at creating claims and excuses in an attempt to expand the conflict in the region.”

It said Iraq has turned to the Security Council out of Iraq’s keenness on the international body carrying out its duty in maintaining international peace and security and the need to rein in the “Zionist aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Moreover, it stressed that Iraq has been keen on exercising restraint when it comes to the use of its airspace to attack a neighboring country.

Israel has used Iraqi airspace to launch attacks against Iran in October.

Iraq underscored the importance of the international community stepping in to “stop this hostile behavior that is a flagrant violation of international law.”

It called for international efforts to stop the Israeli escalation in the region and ensure that international laws and treaties are respected to consolidate security and stability.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coordination Framework said the main Shiite parties are taking the Israeli threats “very seriously”, urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government to take “all the necessary measures to avert a potential Israeli strike.”

All leaders of armed factions, as well as Shiite leaders, have taken up alternative locations and are moving under great secrecy, confirming that they have changed the majority of their military positions, said the source.

It also dismissed claims that Israeli jets have overflown Iraq, saying nothing has been confirmed, but not ruling out the possibility, especially since US forces have control over Iraqi skies and Iraq is helpless against stopping these violations.

Iraq had submitted a formal complaint to the UN and Security Council over Israel’s use and violation of its airspace to attack Iran.

Analyst and former diplomat Ghazi Faisal said the pro-Iran armed factions have been gathering their forces in the Sinjar province, which is strategic for Iran’s arms deliveries and logistic support to Syria where attacks can be carried out against American forces and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Sinjar is one of the most important strategic bases for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, he added.

Furthermore, he noted that the armed factions insist on continuing the war against Israel, rejecting government calls for calm and neutrality.

The government’s statements are aimed at delivering a message that it “is not directly responsible for the strategy of these factions,” which follow Iran’s policies.

Iraq has repeatedly said that it refuses for its territory to be used to attack another country, but some observers believe that it may allow Iran to do so should Israel strike.