Syrian Authorities Detain Man Accused in 2013 Tadamon Civilian Killings

Syrian authorities arrested Amjad Youssef in Hama province, Syria's state news agency reported. Interior Minister Anas Khattab stated that Youssef was taken into custody after a security operation and described him as the main perpetrator of the massacre in Tadamon. Youssef was wanted over the mass killing of civilians in April 2013 in the Tadamon district of Damascus.

Footage emerged in 2022 showing Syrian soldiers leading victims, bound and blindfolded, to a pit before shooting them. The video of the killings at Tadamon was filmed by the perpetrators and leaked nine years later. Victims in the Tadamon video were led one by one to the pit and shot.

Human Rights Watch visited the site in Tadamon and reported that 288 people were killed there overall, with 41 killed in the incident in April 2013. Hiba Zayadin, Human Rights Watch senior researcher, said the leaked video was filmed by the perpetrators who laughed as they killed their victims.

Footage published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights appeared to show Amjad Youssef after his arrest, sitting in a police car with his nose and forehead bloodied. The Syrian civil war began in March 2011 when security forces cracked down violently on peaceful pro-democracy protests. The government led by President Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in December 2024.

More than half a million people were killed in the Syrian civil war over 13 years. BBC News reported these details, including the arrest and historical context of the conflict.