Syrian security forces are seen entering the northeastern Hasakeh province following an agreement with Kurdish-led forces in February 2026 [Getty]
Syrian authorities announced on Friday the arrest of a military official who worked under the deposed Assad regime.
The interior ministry said it detained Sahr Fajr Hassan, a brigadier general in the former regime, during what it described as a “precise” security operation, but did not state where he was arrested.
In a statement, the ministry said Hassan was considered a prominent military figure involved in the violent repression against Syrians since the revolution began in 2011.
The ministry said that he had held a series of senior and “sensitive” positions, including commander of a battalion in the Republican Guard in Deir Ezzour province, and membership in the security committee in the city of Aleppo.
Hassan had been involved in commanding battlefronts in the provinces of Homs and Idlib before being transferred to southern Syria with the rank of brigadier general, the statement added.
He was later assigned as deputy commander of the 15th Division in the Suweida province before eventually leading the division.
Hassan had been referred to the relevant judicial authorities to complete investigations, the ministry said.
Dozens of officials have been detained by Syria’s new authorities since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.
Last month, authorities arrested a key suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, one of the most notorious mass killings of civilians carried out by forces of the regime of former dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Assad’s forces brutally suppressed peaceful anti-government protests that erupted in March 2011, igniting a civil war that would see hundreds of thousands killed and large parts of the country left in ruins.
Since toppling the Ba’athist regime, Syria’s government has vowed to restore justice in the country and protect minorities, despite frequent outbreaks of sectarian violence.
Government-aligned forces and other militias have been accused of committing human rights violations.
Extremist groups like the Islamic State continue to operate in small cells and have claimed a string of attacks.
