Syriaupdated 59m ago2 min read
Syria Arrests Ali Kayali, Mihrac Ural, After Attempted Border Infiltration
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Ali Kayali, aka Mihrac Ural, arrested by Syria's General Intelligence while attempting border infiltration. Main suspect in 2013 Baniyas Bayda massacres, responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths.
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Kayali Arrested in Syria
Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate arrested Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, as he attempted to flee across the border, according to state-run SANA news agency. Kayali, 70, commanded al-Assad-affiliated militia forces that carried out summary executions of more than 450 civilians in Bayda and Baniyas in May 2013.
Armed men with Lebanese accents entered Kayali’s home in the Mansourieh area of Lebanon, apprehended his wife and brother-in-law, and removed him from the premises. The Syrian Observer described Kayali as being arrested during an attempted border infiltration, and it identified him as the principal perpetrator of the 2013 massacre in the town of Al‑Bayda in the Baniyas countryside.
Competing Accounts of Kidnap
Asharq Al-Awsat said SANA reported Kayali was arrested while attempting to flee across the border, but it added that SANA did not specify where he was arrested or which country he was attempting to enter. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Lebanon's MTV television said Kayali was abducted from his home in Mansourieh, in Lebanon's Metn district, after his wife and son were tied up.
Unknown individuals kidnapped a Syrian citizen named Ali Khalil Ibrahim from inside his home in Mansourieh, Metn, after tying up his wife and son. Naharnet also said SANA announced that “The intelligence services have arrested Ali Kayali, who also went by the name Mihrac Ural, the main suspect in the Banias massacre of 2013, while he was attempting to flee across the border,” and it described his presence “inside Syrian territory.”
Transitional Justice and Aftermath
The Syrian Future Movement said the arrest of Ali Kayali, also known as the “Butcher of Baniyas” or “Meraj Ural,” came with a celebratory gathering in the Al-Midan neighborhood of Damascus by families of the victims and other citizens. The Syrian Future Movement argued that the arrest is “a true test of the seriousness of the transitional justice process in Syria,” and it said the movement views the step as a benchmark for the new authority’s commitment to accountability, justice, and restoration of rights to victims.
Syria’s Interior Ministry is continuing to pursue individuals accused of involvement in abuses under the former regime as part of efforts to achieve transitional justice. The Syrian Observer said Fadel Abdul Ghany, Director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), stated that the arrest represents an essential step toward accountability for the May 2013 massacres in Al‑Bayda and Ras al‑Nabaa, offering a measure of justice to the families of the victims.
