Amjad Youssef: Syria arrests the main suspect in the Tadamon massacre in Damascus
The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Friday the arrest of Amjad Youssef, the primary suspect accused of committing a massacre in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus in 2013, during which dozens of people were shot at close range and their bodies later burned, acts that were documented in video footage.
Amjad Youssef appeared in a video leaked several years ago, wearing a military uniform and ordering blindfolded individuals with their hands tied to run. As they began to run, he shot them and they were thrown into a pit where bodies had already piled up.
After killing 41 young men and adults, the bodies were set on fire.
The release of the video at the time sparked widespread outrage and controversy across Arabic-language social media and internationally.
In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said it had carried out “a carefully planned security operation” during which it “arrested Amjad Youssef, the main suspect in committing the Tadamon massacre in the city of Damascus, which claimed dozens of innocent victims.”
The ministry affirmed its determination to “pursue the remaining perpetrators of the massacre in order to arrest them and bring them to justice.”
In a post on X, Interior Minister Anas Khattab wrote: “The criminal Amjad Youssef, the primary suspect in the Tadamon massacre, is now in our custody following a carefully executed security operation.”
In late April 2022, the British newspaper The Guardian and the New Lines Institute in Washington published articles and videos revealing the execution of dozens of people in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus.
Following the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, families from the neighborhood reported several massacres carried out by government forces during the early years of the conflict. The new authorities announced last year the arrest of several individuals involved.
The new administration periodically announces the arrest of military and security officials from the previous era who were involved in “atrocities and crimes against Syrians during the years of conflict.”
