Syrian authorities arrest a high-ranking cousin of Assad, accused in 2011 protest crackdown.

Syrian authorities have arrested Atef Najib, a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad and a key figure in the 2011 crackdown on protests that sparked the civil war. Najib, head of the Political Security Branch in Deraa at the time, is accused of overseeing the arrest and torture of children who wrote anti-regime graffiti. The arrest is the highest-ranking since Islamist rebels seized power, signaling a new phase in accountability for the conflict.

2 months ago
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