Syrian authorities have arrested a former senior security officer and cousin of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad credited by some with sparking the country's 2011 uprising due to a crackdown on protests in the southern city of Daraa, state media said.
Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa, was arrested by General Security forces in the country's western Latakia province, state media SANA said © Mena Today
Syrian authorities have arrested a former senior security officer and cousin of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad credited by some with sparking the country's 2011 uprising due to a crackdown on protests in the southern city of Daraa, state media said.
Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa, was arrested by General Security forces in the country's western Latakia province, state media SANA said.
He is the most senior member of Assad's former political or security structures whose arrest has been announced since Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized power from the former president in a lightning offensive last year.
HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has since been appointed president for the transitional phase and has pledged to arrest members of the former government accused of crimes.
"This step comes within the framework of the authorities' efforts to hold accountable those involved in violations against the Syrian people and enhance security and stability in the region," SANA quoted the head of General Security in Latakia, Mustafa Knaifati, as saying.
SANA said Najib was handed over to the relevant authorities to face trial.
The arrest and torture of a group of Syrian boys in Daraa, where Najib was security chief, sparked protests and eventually ignited a nationwide uprising that was met with a brutal crackdown by the Assad government.
The U.S. sanctioned Najib in 2011 for alleged involvement in human rights abuses in Syria.
Reporting by Timour Azhari in Damascus and Kinda Makieh
Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their Turkish allies on Thursday of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has issued a forceful condemnation following a wave of Israeli airstrikes across the country, denouncing the attacks as a flagrant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty.
Israel launched airstrikes on military airbases and infrastructure sites in the Syrian cities of Damascus, Hama and Homs on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
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