Arrest of a Senior Security Official of Assad's Regime in Latakia

Syrian authorities have arrested a former security officer and a relative of Bashar al-Assad, the ousted president of the country, who is referred to by some as responsible for the crackdown on protesters in the city of Daraa, which sparked the uprising in 2011. According to SANA, the state news agency of Syria, Atef Najib, a major general and former head of the political security department in Daraa, was arrested by public security forces in the western province of Latakia. The new Syrian government has launched security operations aimed at arresting former government officials in several regions of the country, resulting in the detention of dozens, most of whom are low-ranking officers or military personnel. Atef Najib is the highest-ranking member of Assad's political or security structures to be arrested since the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham took power in Syria. Ahmad al-Shara, the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, who has been appointed as the interim president of Syria, has promised to arrest members of the former Syrian government accused of suppressing dissent. The state news agency of Syria has reflected a statement from the public security department of Latakia, which says: 'This action is part of the government's efforts to hold accountable those involved in actions against the Syrian people.' The report adds that Atef Najib has been handed over to the responsible authorities for trial. The arrest and torture of a group known as 'Syrian Boys' in 2011 in the city of Daraa, where Atef Najib was the head of the political security department, sparked public protests and ultimately led to a nationwide uprising that the Assad regime suppressed. The United States sanctioned Najib in 2011 for his involvement in human rights violations in Syria.