Syria Arrests Amjad Youssef, Primary Perpetrator Of 2013 Tadamon Massacre

Syrian authorities arrested Amjad Youssef, described by multiple outlets as the main suspect or primary perpetrator in the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus, in a security operation carried out in the countryside of Hama.

“Syrian authorities have arrested the main suspect accused of the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus, during which at least 41 people were killed”

Al Jazeera

Arab News PK said the Interior Ministry announced that Youssef was arrested in the central province of Hama where he had been hiding, and it reported that authorities posted a photo of him in a striped prison uniform.

Al Jazeera

Middle East Eye reported that Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced on X that Youssef’s detention followed “a successful security operation,” and it said a security source told Sana that Youssef was detained in the al-Ghab area of Hama.

The Guardian similarly reported that the interior ministry announced Youssef’s arrest and said he had been captured about 30 miles (50km) outside the city of Hama, with Khattab saying he had “been taken into custody following a carefully executed security operation.”

TRT World said the interior ministry stated internal security forces captured Amjad Youssef, identified as the primary perpetrator behind the mass killings in the Tadamon neighbourhood of Damascus, in the countryside of Hama.

Al Jazeera Net added that surveillance and tracking operations continued for several days before the operation in the Al-Ghab Plain, and it quoted Khateb saying, "The criminal Amjad Yusuf, the first accused in the التضامن massacre, is in our grasp after a tightly planned security operation."

The arrest was tied to the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus, which outlets described as killings carried out by Syrian soldiers and militiamen and documented in video footage that was leaked later.

Middle East Eye said the massacre took place on 16 April 2013 in the Tadamon neighbourhood of Damascus, and it reported that “Syrian soldiers and militiamen walked 288 people into a pit and mocked them before shooting them dead.”

Al-Jazeera Net

It said the footage was filmed by the perpetrators and leaked in 2022, showing detainees blindfolded and with their hands tied, led to the pit to be shot, and it reported that seven women and 15 children were among those seen murdered.

The Guardian described the massacre as the slaughter of an estimated 288 civilians, including 12 children, and it said the killings were documented in videos taken by the killers themselves and leaked to researchers in Europe.

Arab News PK said the 6 minute and 43 second clip showed members of Syria’s notorious Military Intelligence Branch 227 with a line of around 40 prisoners in an abandoned building in Tadamon, a suburb of Damascus near the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk.

TRT World said the massacre took place on April 16 2013, when at least 41 people were killed near the Othman Mosque in the Tadamon neighbourhood of Damascus and their bodies were thrown into a pit in an empty street.

The reporting included direct statements from officials and descriptions from witnesses about the killings and the atmosphere in Tadamon.

Middle East Eye quoted Abdul-Rahman Saud, who said, “I cannot count how many they killed. Everyone here in Tadamon lived in terror,” and it also quoted him saying, “Everyone loved each other but the regime made us hate each other,” as he described how the regime’s soldiers treated residents.

The Guardian included a reaction from Maher Rahima, who said, “I don’t know what to say, I am so happy,” and added, “At the same time, I cannot forget the images of the children and women who were killed and burned. They must never be forgotten.”

The Guardian also described how the arrest was announced by interior minister Anas Khattab, who said Youssef had “been taken into custody following a carefully executed security operation.”

Arab News PK reported that Interior Ministry statements said authorities would go after all those involved in the Tadamon shooting to bring them to justice, and it said the Interior Ministry announced the arrest and posted a photo of Youssef in a striped prison uniform.

BBC said Interior Minister Anas Khattab told that Youssef was the main perpetrator and was taken into custody after a “well-executed” security operation, and it reported that Syria’s state news agency said he was detained in Hama province.

While all outlets tied the arrest to the Tadamon massacre and to leaked video evidence, they differed in the numbers killed and in how they described the incident’s details.

Middle East Eye said “Syrian soldiers and militiamen walked 288 people into a pit,” and it reported that seven women and 15 children were among those seen murdered, while the Guardian described “the slaughter of an estimated 288 civilians, including 12 children.”

Arab News PK

BBC said Human Rights Watch found evidence that 288 were killed in Tadamon, 41 in the incident in April 2013, and it reported that 11 blindfolded victims shown in the video were shot at close range and pushed into a machine-dug grave.

TRT World said the massacre took place on April 16 2013 when at least 41 people were killed near the Othman Mosque, and it described bodies being thrown into a pit in an empty street.

Arab News PK described a 6 minute and 43 second clip showing around 40 prisoners in a line, and it said the gunmen later set bodies on fire to erase evidence of the massacre.

Al Jazeera Net said the massacre left 288 documented martyrs, while also stating that on April 16, 2013, regime forces killed 41 civilians in the التضامن neighbourhood in Damascus and threw them into a large pit.

Several outlets framed the arrest as part of a broader push for accountability after the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the start of a new administration.

“DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said Friday they have arrested a former intelligence officer who appeared in a video leaked four years ago that purportedly showed him and his comrades fatally shooting dozens of people during the country’s conflict”

Arab News PK

Arab News PK said that since insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, dozens of members of his security agencies blamed for atrocities during the conflict have been arrested, and it reported that Assad fled to Russia.

BBC

TRT World said the current Syrian administration has repeatedly announced arrests of individuals accused of committing abuses against civilians during the 2011-2024 conflict as part of efforts to pursue accountability, and it said a transitional government led by President Ahmed al Sharaa was formed in January 2025.

The Guardian described how the leaked videos led to sanctions by the US state department and the EU and said France was commencing a war crimes investigation, while it also described how researchers identified suspects including Youssef.

BBC reported that Human Rights Watch called the area “a huge crime scene,” and it quoted Hiba Zayadin describing the video as showing the former government’s “callous disregard for people's lives.”

Al Jazeera’s report said Syria’s new government began a security campaign to pursue figures of the former leadership, while citizens launched a public fundraising campaign to offer a reward to anyone who could find those accused of atrocities, primarily Youssef.