'Don’t you have children?’: Syria interior minister interrogates suspect in 2013 Tadamon massacre after his arrest

In a new video, Syria’s interior minister is seen interrogating Amjad Youssef, the main suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre in the capital Damascus, just hours after his Friday arrest.

In a video circulating on social media, Anas Khattab is seen questioning Youssef directly, asking in a tone of anger and disbelief: “Don’t you have children?”

Youssef, appearing subdued compared to footage from the time of the massacre, responded hesitantly: “I have a daughter and a son.”

Khattab continued, “To attack people this way, don’t you have a heart?” adding that the massacre showed “a lack of humanity.”

Syrian authorities said earlier Friday that they arrested the main suspect in the 2013 massacre, which took place during Syria’s Civil War, in an operation in a rural area of the Hama Governorate.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said internal security forces captured Youssef, identifying him as the primary perpetrator behind the mass killings in Tadamon, Damascus.

The Tadamon case drew international attention after video footage surfaced documenting the killings.

In 2022, Britain’s The Guardian published footage it said had been leaked by a conscript in a pro-government militia showing members of the Assad-era Military Intelligence Branch 227 executing at least 41 people and burning their bodies.

The video showed an intelligence officer identified as Youssef shooting blindfolded and bound detainees.

The massacre took place on April 16, 2013, when at least 41 people were killed near the Othman Mosque in the Tadamon neighborhood and their bodies were thrown into a pit, in what became one of the most widely documented atrocities of the conflict.

Seeking to pursue accountability, the current Syrian administration has repeatedly announced arrests of individuals accused of committing abuses against civilians during the 2011–2024 conflict.

In December 2024, then-President Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, bringing an end to the Baath Party’s decades of rule that began in 1963. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.