Syria Detains 5 Assad-Era Air Force Officers Over Civilian Area Strikes
Syrian security forces have arrested five former air force officers accused of involvement in deadly airstrikes on populated areas during the country’s civil war under ousted President Bashar Assad.
The officers, who include pilots, field commanders and operations room personnel, were detained by Internal Security Forces during a series of operations in the coastal province of Tartous over their alleged role in planning, managing and executing airstrikes against populated areas, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. Those detained were identified as Maj. Gen. Mohammad Fajr Ali, Brig. Gen. Abdullah Ali Ma’la, Col. Nidal Hussein Saleh, Col. Mohammad Ali Salim, and Lt. Col. Taleb Abdul Karim Hassan.
According to SANA, the officers allegedly used military aircraft, airbases and field command centers to carry out extensive raids that killed civilians, destroyed residential neighborhoods and infrastructure, and forced residents to flee their homes.
Since Assad’s fall, Syria’s new authorities have pursued former security officials accused of abuses committed over more than 13 years of civil war. Assad was ousted in December 2024 after opposition forces took control of Damascus, bringing an end to more than five decades of rule by his family. During the war, the former government’s air force carried out extensive bombing campaigns, including strikes on opposition-held cities and towns that international investigators and human rights groups say caused widespread civilian casualties.
Earlier this month, Syrian authorities announced the arrest of nine other former pilots, including three generals, accused of taking part in lethal bombings of towns and villages under Assad’s rule.
The latest detentions come alongside separate efforts outside Syria to hold former Assad-era officials accountable. On Thursday, a US federal judge sentenced Samir Ousman Alsheikh, the former head of Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, to 60 years after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, and immigration-related fraud. Alsheikh, who ran the prison from roughly 2005 to 2008 and later served as governor of Deir Ezzor, became the highest-ranking Assad-era official to be tried in person outside Syria. Separately in Britain, former Syrian Air Force Intelligence officer Salem Al-Salem appeared in court in March facing charges including murder, torture and crimes against humanity, tied to the government’s crackdown on protests in 2011 and 2012.
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