Syria’s new authorities on Thursday arrested a military justice official from the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
The arrest of Mohammed Kanjo Hassan was confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights a day after deadly clashes broke out in Assad’s stronghold, the coastal province of Tartus, where gunmen sought to protect him. Twenty members of Kanjo Hasan’s associates were also arrested.
Kanjo Hassan, the highest-ranking official who issues sentences, including the death penalty, for detainees at the Sayednaya prison was arrested on December 8 after Assad was ousted from power.
Kanzo Hassan ran Syria’s Military Field Court from 2011-14, the first three years of the war that began with Assad’s crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired democracy protests, Agence France-Presse reported Diab, co-founder of the Association of Detainees Reported citing Seria. and missing persons from Sayednaya prison.
Seria said Kanjo Hassan had sentenced thousands of people to death in “trials that lasted minutes”. His group estimates that 30,000 people were detained in prison since 2011, and 6,000 were released. AFP reported that the remaining people were missing.
According to state news agency SANA, the arrest was part of an operation launched on Thursday against Assad-linked militias. Reports said the operation was focused on the western province of Tartus and that some militia members were killed.
The development came a day after pro-Assad fighters killed 14 members of the rebel group that led the attack that ousted Assad from power.
Syria’s new interior minister said on Telegram that 10 other people were wounded in what he called an “ambush”, and he vowed to crack down on anyone who undermines Syria’s security.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebel fighters were attacked while trying to arrest Kanjo Hassan.
Syrian refugees
More than 50,000 refugees have returned to Syria during the past three weeks, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said on Thursday, with the rate of returns gradually increasing.
“Material conditions inside Syria remain grave – more humanitarian and recovery assistance must be provided to returnees and all those in need,” Grandi said.
By comparison, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said earlier this month that it had verified the return of 34,000 Syrian refugees during the first eight months of this year.
The civil war, which lasted more than 13 years, has caused approximately 5 million people to flee the country, while another 7 million are displaced in Syria.
More than half of the refugees went to Türkiye, while most fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.
A UNHCR report earlier this month said that while many refugees are interested in returning to Syria, many are preferring to wait and evaluate the security situation and political stabilization.
Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.