DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities arrested on Thursday a former 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 security forces in the country’s western Latakia province.

He is the most senior member of Assad’s former political or security structures whose arrest has been announced since fighters belonging to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham seized power from the former president in a lightning offensive last year.

Ahmed Al Sharaa, the HTS leader, 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 news agency quoted the head of security in Latakia, Mustafa Knaifati, as saying.

Sana said Najib was handed over to the 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 US sanctioned Najib in 2011 for alleged involvement in human rights abuses in Syria.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2025