A key suspect in one of the most infamous atrocities of the Syrian civil war has been captured, according to Syria's interior minister. The suspect, identified as Amjad Youssef, is accused of orchestrating the mass killing of civilians in the Tadamon district of Damascus in April 2013.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab confirmed the arrest, calling Youssef the main perpetrator of the massacre. He was taken into custody following a "well-executed" security operation, Syria's state news agency reported, adding that Youssef was detained in Hama province.
Footage published by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) appeared to show a bloodied Youssef sitting in a police car after his arrest.
The Tadamon massacre drew global condemnation after a video filmed by the perpetrators themselves was leaked nine years later. The footage shows victims, bound and blindfolded, being led one by one to a pit and shot dead. Human Rights Watch (HRW), which visited the site, said evidence indicates 288 people were killed in Tadamon, including 41 in the incident captured on video. The group described the area as "a huge crime scene."
HRW senior researcher Hiba Zayadin said the leaked video "filmed by the perpetrators themselves who laughed as they killed their victims, shows the [former] Syrian government's callous disregard for people's lives. This massacre is just one horrific incident in a pattern of state violence and apparent war crimes."
The killings occurred during the brutal civil war that began in March 2011 after security forces cracked down on peaceful pro-democracy protests. The government of President Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in December 2024. Over 13 years of conflict, more than half a million people were killed.