Syria rebel leader vows to close notorious Assad prisons

Syrian rebel forces have said they plan to close notoriously harsh prisons run by ousted President Bashar al-Assad and hunt down those involved in the killing or torture of detainees.

In a statement seen by Reuters news agency, rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, also said he would disband the former regime’s security forces.

On Sunday, videos emerged showing thousands of prisoners being freed from the Sayednaya prison – dubbed a “human slaughterhouse” by rights groups – following the fall of the Assad government.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said some 60,000 people were tortured and killed in prisons run by Assad.

Jolani’s Islamist militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led other Syrian rebel groups in a massive offensive that overthrew the Assad dynasty’s 54-year rule.

After rebels seized the capital, Damascus, Assad fled early Sunday to Russia, where he and his family have been granted asylum.

In a separate statement, Jolani said there was no question of amnesty for those who participated in the torture or murder of prisoners.

“We will pursue them in Syria and we will ask countries to hand over those who have fled so that we can achieve justice,” he said.

Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Syrians have flocked to the regime’s notorious prisons in search of their loved ones. In a 2022 report, the Türkiye-based Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) said Sayednaya “effectively became a death camp” After the civil war started in 2011.

Jolani also said he would disband the security forces of the former Assad regime. It is unclear how quickly they can be reorganized by rebel fighters amid concerns about Israeli attacks on the country’s military infrastructure.

In the statement seen by Reuters, Jolani said his group was working with international organizations to secure potential chemical weapons sites.

Asked about the Reuters report, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the US “welcomed” Jolani’s words, but said they needed to be followed up.

“Our focus is to ensure that these chemical weapons do not fall into the wrong hands,” he said.

comes after this Israel carried out hundreds of attacks across Syria And many military assets were confiscated.

According to local media reports, one of the attacks targeted a research center suspected to be involved in chemical weapons production.

Israel says it is taking action to prevent weapons from falling “into the hands of extremists.”

A chemical weapon is described by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the United Nations chemical monitoring organization, as a chemical that is used to intentionally cause death or harm through its toxic properties.

Their use is prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Between 2013 and 2018, Human Rights Watch documented at least 85 chemical weapons attacks in Syria, accusing the ousted government of being responsible for most of them.

Assad’s government has denied ever using chemical weapons.

Syria signed the OPCW’s chemical weapons certificate in 2013, a month after a chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus killed more than 1,400 people.

It is not known how many chemical weapons Syria has, but it is believed that Assad has stockpiles and that the stockpiles he announced were incomplete.

have been victims of chemical attacks in Syria Recently spoke to BBC About the devastating effects they experienced.

Meanwhile, European foreign ministers are meeting in Berlin on Thursday for crucial talks on Syria and Ukraine.

A day later, leaders of the G7 countries will also discuss the latest developments in Syria in a virtual meeting, the White House said.