DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities have arrested three brothers accused of taking part in the mass execution of 15 civilians during the rule of former President Bashar Assad, with investigators citing video footage they say documented the killings, state news agency SANA reported on Saturday.
The Interior Ministry identified the suspects as Akram, Farzat, and Ghiyath Shamma.
It said investigations, supported by witness testimony and video footage, concluded that the three men detained 15 civilians before executing them during the 2014 uprising against the former government.
A video captured the victims with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded after being forced at gunpoint to praise the former regime before being shot, the ministry said.
The suspects acknowledged appearing in the video, according to the statement.
Authorities said legal procedures had been completed, and the suspects would be referred to the competent judicial authorities for prosecution.
The arrests came two days after Syrian authorities announced the detention of Faez Abbas Akhal and Nasr Mohammad Ghosn, who are accused of being involved in a massacre in the village of Wadi Al-Mawla, western Homs countryside, that killed 40 civilians including women and children.
The arrests are part of a broader campaign by Syria’s transitional authorities to pursue former regime officials and security personnel accused of war crimes and human rights abuses during the country’s 14-year civil war.
