Syria releases confession of key perpetrator in 2013 Tadamon massacre

Tarek Chouiref

The Syrian Interior Ministry released a video confession early Sunday by Amjad Youssef, the key perpetrator in the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus, in which he admitted executing detainees and burning their bodies to hide the crime.

The video was posted on US social media company X under the title, “Tadamon butcher,” two days after announcing Youssef’s arrest in a security operation in the countryside of Hama.

Youssef, a first assistant who served in the Military Intelligence’s Regional Branch 227, confirmed that he was the officer seen in the leaked execution footage that exposed the massacre.

“The person who appeared in the video circulating on social media is me,” he said in the recorded confession.

According to Youssef, he and Najeeb Al-Halabi, a member of the National Defense Forces, brought around 40 detainees accused of being “terrorists” or financially supporting armed groups.

The victims were taken to a pit dug by a bulldozer, where they were shot individually before their bodies were thrown inside, he said.

“We placed tires under them, then more tires on top and set them on fire so that no smell would spread in the area,” said Youssef.

He also claimed he did not receive direct orders from a superior officer and did not personally choose the victims, saying names were brought based on reports accusing them of supporting armed groups or providing financial aid.

Authorities announced Friday the arrest of Youssef, describing him as the main perpetrator behind the mass killings in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus.

The case drew international attention after a leaked video surfaced in 2022 documenting the execution of detainees and the burning of bodies.

The massacre took place 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 war.

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

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