{"id":128949,"date":"2025-08-28T18:11:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=128949"},"modified":"2025-08-28T18:11:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:11:56","slug":"internal-security-in-latakia-captures-ex-pilot-accused-of-massacres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128949\/","title":{"rendered":"Internal security in Latakia captures ex-pilot accused of massacres"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>LATAKIA, Syria (North Press) <\/strong>\u2013 On Thursday, Internal Security Forces in Latakia announced the arrest of Riyad Abdullah Youssef, a former Syrian regime air force general accused of overseeing airstrikes that left large numbers of civilian casualties during the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">investigations confirmed Youssef\u2019s role in supervising \u201ca number of aerial operations during which massacres against unarmed civilians were committed,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Abdulaziz Hilal al-Ahmad, head of Internal Security in Latakia, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the statement, Youssef, originally from the town of Termanin in Idlib countryside, had held several senior military positions before assuming command of al-Dumayr Military Airport near Damascus, one of the regime\u2019s key air bases used during military campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Human rights groups had long documented the former Syrian&nbsp; government\u2019s extensive use of air power against populated areas throughout the conflict. Independent monitors, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), had repeatedly reported on mass casualties resulting from air raids during the years when Youssef was in active service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Security forces in Latakia described the operation as \u201cspecial and precise,\u201d without disclosing the exact location or circumstances of the arrest. No further details were provided regarding ongoing legal procedures against the detainee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Internal Security Forces added that the arrest followed coordinated investigations aimed at holding individuals accountable for war crimes committed during Syria\u2019s protracted conflict, particularly those targeting civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Further official information on Youssef\u2019s detention and potential prosecution has not yet been released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Saad al-Yaziji<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LATAKIA, Syria (North Press) \u2013 On Thursday, Internal Security Forces in Latakia announced the arrest of Riyad Abdullah Youssef, a former Syrian regime air force general accused of overseeing airstrikes that left large numbers of civilian casualties during the conflict. investigations confirmed Youssef\u2019s role in supervising \u201ca number of aerial operations during which massacres against [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":128950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-military-developments","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Internal security in Latakia captures ex-pilot accused of massacres<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LATAKIA, Syria (North Press) \u2013 On Thursday, Internal Security Forces in 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