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New Syrian authorities arrest official from notorious prison, war monitor says
December 27, 2024
Article Body Text<p>Syria's new authorities on Thursday arrested a military justice official from the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.</p> <p>The arrest of Mohammed Kanjo Hassan was confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights one day after deadly clashes erupted in the coastal province of Tartus, an Assad stronghold, where gunmen sought to protect him. Twenty members of Kanjo Hassan's associates were also arrested.</p> <p>Kanjo Hassan, who issued sentences, including death sentences, for detainees at the Saydnaya prison, is the highest-ranking official whose arrest has been announced since Assad was ousted on Dec. 8.</p> <p>Kanjo 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, citing Diab Serriya, co-founder of the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya Prison.</p> <p>Serriya said Kanjo Hassan had sentenced thousands of people to death in "trials that lasted minutes." His group estimates 30,000 people had been detained at the prison since 2011, and 6,000 were released. The rest are missing, AFP reported.</p> <p>The arrest was part of an operation launched Thursday against militias aligned with Assad, according to state news agency SANA. The reports said that the operation was focused on the western province of Tartus, and that some militia members had been killed.</p> <p>The development came a day after pro-Assad fighters killed 14 members of the rebel group that led the offensive that pushed Assad from power.</p> <p>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 undermined Syria's security.</p> <p>The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebel fighters were attacked while trying to arrest Kanjo Hassan.</p> <p><strong>Syrian refugees</strong></p> <p>U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday that more than 50,000 refugees have returned to Syria during the past three weeks, with the rate of return slowly increasing.</p> <p>"Material conditions inside Syria remain dire — more humanitarian and recovery assistance must be delivered to returnees and all those in need," Grandi said.</p> <p>By comparison, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said earlier this month that it verified the return of 34,000 Syrian refugees during the first eight months of this year.</p> <p>More than 13 years of civil war prompted about 5 million people to flee the country, while 7 million others were displaced within Syria.</p> <p>More than half of the refugees went to Turkey, while most of the others fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.</p> <p>A UNHCR report earlier this month said that while many of the refugees are interested in returning to Syria, many are choosing to wait for now and evaluate the security situation and political stabilization.</p> <p><em>Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. </em></p>
Content TypeText
LanguageEnglish
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 26, 2024 20:26 EST
BylineVOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
