Türkiye’s envoy in Damascus praises arrest of key Assad-era officer in notorious 2013 Tadamon massacre

Türkiye's Ambassador to Damascus Nuh Yilmaz on Friday congratulated Syrian Internal Security Forces on the arrest of a key Assad-era officer in the notorious 2013 Tadamon massacre in Syria.

"Amjad Youssef, the suspect in the 2013 massacre carried out in Tadamon, where Turkmens also live densely, was captured in Hama by the Syrian Internal Security Forces," Yilmaz said in a post on US social media company X.

Congratulating the security forces, Yilmaz described the Tadamon massacre as one of the most horrific atrocities of the Syrian war, noting that 288 people were executed blindfolded, thrown into a pit and burned, with the killings filmed.

"I congratulate the Syrian Internal Security Forces for this operation," he added.

- Capture of key officer

In a statement, Syria's Interior Ministry said internal security forces captured Youssef, identifying him as the primary perpetrator behind mass killings in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus.

The Tadamon case drew international attention after video footage documenting the killings surfaced during the Syrian war.

On April 27, 2022, The Guardian published footage it said had been leaked by a conscript in a pro-government militia showing members of Military Intelligence Branch 227 executing at least 41 people and burning their bodies.

The video showed an intelligence officer identified as Youssef shooting blindfolded and bound detainees.

The massacre took place on April 16, 2013, when at least 41 people were killed near the Othman Mosque in the Tadamon neighborhood and their bodies thrown into a pit in an empty street, in what became one of the most widely documented atrocities of the conflict.

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.

Former President Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, bringing an end to the Baath Party's decades-long rule that began in 1963. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.