Syrian authorities have arrested a former brigadier general accused of ordering attacks on civilians under Bashar al-Assad's regime, alongside five other suspects, as the country's new government continues efforts to prosecute those implicated in atrocities during the civil war.
Brigadier General Abdul Hakim Wanous, former chief of staff of the 35th Special Forces Regiment, was detained by military police in the central province of Hama on Wednesday, according to local judicial authorities.
Wanous is accused of ordering artillery attacks, carrying out arbitrary arrests and participating in military raids and operations targeting civilian areas in the Damascus countryside and the Ghab Plain in Hama province.
Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, head of the transitional justice prosecution office in Hama, said the former officer was suspected of involvement in serious violations and crimes against humanity committed during the Syrian uprising.
The five other detainees, whose identities have not been disclosed, are also suspected of involvement in abuses against civilians under the former government.
Judicial authorities said preliminary investigations were continuing before the suspects are referred to Hama's specialised transitional justice investigation chamber.
Hama's attorney general, Mohammed Ahmed al-Naasan, stressed the importance of pursuing those implicated in abuses through legal proceedings that ensure accountability, justice for victims and compensation for those affected.
The arrests come amid a broader campaign by Syria's new authorities to locate former military and intelligence personnel accused of atrocities during Assad's rule, which ended in December 2024.
In a separate operation on Wednesday, security forces reportedly detained around 12 former regime officers and personnel in the Masyaf area of Hama province.
A security source told Lebanese newspaper Al-Modon that the operation involved internal security and counterterrorism units, and targeted former regime personnel who had previously undergone security reconciliation procedures after Assad's overthrow.
The detainees are suspected of continuing to gather intelligence on behalf of Assad loyalist networks despite having formally regularised their status with the new authorities.
Al-Modon also reported the arrest of Younes Mohammed, a former prison official accused of involvement in abuses against detainees at the Balouna prison in Homs and the notorious Saydnaya prison near Damascus.
Mohammed was reportedly arrested in Qadmus, in Tartous province, after security forces tracked him to a business he was operating under his wife's name. The allegations against him have not been independently verified.
Earlier this month, Hama authorities referred 30 suspects accused of crimes including murder, kidnapping, sexual violence and extortion to the transitional justice authorities following investigations in the Salamiyah area.
The arrests form part of Syria's attempts to confront the legacy of decades of repression under the Assad family, particularly the widespread detention, torture and killing of civilians during the civil war.
Following Assad's overthrow, the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa established a National Commission for Transitional Justice in May 2025 to investigate crimes committed by the former regime, support victims and pursue accountability.
Syria began its first public trial of senior Assad-era officials in April 2026, including Atef Najib, a former intelligence chief and cousin of Bashar al-Assad, whose treatment of detained teenagers in Daraa helped ignite the 2011 uprising.
In August, a Damascus court convicted Najib and several other former regime figures, including Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, who were tried in absentia, over crimes committed during the uprising.
However, human rights organisations have raised concerns about the capacity of Syria's judicial system to prosecute the vast number of alleged perpetrators while ensuring fair trials and protecting witnesses.
Human Rights Watch has warned that gaps in the country's legal framework, alongside questions over judicial independence and due process, could undermine accountability for crimes committed during the conflict.
The organisation has also called for investigations into abuses committed by all parties to the civil war, rather than limiting prosecutions to former government officials.
