OMM Newsroom
Syrian intelligence authorities have arrested Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, the chief suspect in the 2013 Baniyas massacre, as he was trying to cross a border, state media reported on Thursday.
The General Intelligence Directorate detained Kayali, who is accused of playing a leading role in the May 2013 massacre in the coastal city of Baniyas, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said.
The report did not say where the arrest took place or which border Kayali was allegedly attempting to cross.
Kayali, a former militia leader loyal to Syria’s then-leader Bashar al-Assad, has long been accused of involvement in mass killings of civilians in Baniyas and the nearby village of al-Bayda during the early years of Syria’s uprising.
His arrest came less than two weeks after Syrian counterterrorism authorities detained Jamal Trabulsi, his former deputy in the pro-Assad Syrian Resistance militia, on Oct. 4.
Syrian authorities have accused Trabulsi of taking part in military operations alongside forces loyal to Assad, including the 2013 massacres in Baniyas and al-Bayda.
On May 2, 2013, Syrian regime forces and allied militias stormed al-Bayda, in Tartus province, killing hundreds of civilians.
Survivors said the forces carried out mass executions, set homes on fire and killed women and children during the assault.
Kayali has also been implicated in twin bombings in May 2013 in Reyhanli, in Türkiye’s southern Hatay province, which killed dozens of people.
Since Assad’s ouster in December 2024, Syrian authorities have stepped up efforts to arrest former regime officials and militia commanders accused of crimes against civilians during the country’s civil war.
