The new Syrian authorities have arrested 300 people in a crackdown on the loyalists of the ousted former President Bashar al-Assad.
The Assad family’s regime, which lasted for more than five decades, came to an abrupt end due to its toppling by Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) around three weeks ago.
The Observatory, based in Britain relying on a network of sources in Syria reported about a large-scale operation launched on Thursday by the security forces of the new administration.
According to Rami Abdul Rehman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, nearly 300 people have been arrested in Damascus and its suburbs, in Homs, Hama, Tartus, Latakia, and Deir Ezzor.
He claimed the campaign to be ongoing with no prominent personalities being arrested so far except for General Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, the former head of military justice under Assad. Hassan has been alleged to have overseen thousands of death sentences following summary trials at the Saydnaya prison.
The crackdown is believed to have been launched on former regime informants, pro-Iranian fighters, and lower-ranking military officers accused of killings and torture. These arrests are being made with the cooperation of the local population.
