Arrest of a former general in the Syrian regime army accused of participating in the Ghouta massacres

The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced today, Friday, the success of the internal security forces in arresting the former general in the Syrian regime army, Rafiq Ahmed Kulthum. This step comes in the context of intensive security movements led by the new Syrian administration to control the situation and pursue symbols of the former regime involved in war crimes and grave violations against Syrian civilians.

The ministry clarified in an official statement that the arrest operation came within the ongoing efforts to pursue elements that contributed to suppressing the Syrian revolution since its inception in 2011 until the fall of the regime. The authorities confirmed that Kulthum's file contains a full record of military positions he exploited in managing combat operations against residential areas in various Syrian governorates.

According to the detainee's military record, Kulthum rose through the military ranks to the rank of general, where he began his leadership path at the outbreak of the revolution as Chief of Staff of the 116th Brigade in the Air Defense Administration in the city of Al-Qatifa in the Damascus countryside. In 2012, he took full command of the same brigade, overseeing military operations in that vital area surrounding the capital.

Kulthum's ascent in the regime's military structure continued, as he was assigned in 2016 to lead the eastern countryside of the Salamiyah region, affiliated with Hama governorate in the center of the country. This period is considered one of the bloodiest stages in the central region, as it witnessed violent confrontations and forced displacement operations under the supervision of the field military leaders of the defunct regime.

In 2018, Rafiq Kulthum was promoted to the rank of general and appointed commander of the Central Region, a position that granted him wide powers in managing the raging fronts. Security sources confirmed that this promotion came as a reward for his role in implementing military plans aimed at breaking the will of areas outside the regime's control through excessive force.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the most prominent crimes attributed to the detained general are his direct participation in managing the wide military attack on Eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside in 2018. This attack is considered one of the most brutal military operations, as the area was subjected to a suffocating siege and intense shelling that led to the death of thousands of civilian victims before its residents were displaced.

The competent authorities are currently continuing investigations with the detained general to document all violations in which he participated or ordered to be carried out. His complete file is scheduled to be referred to the competent judiciary to take the necessary legal measures, in a step aimed at achieving transitional justice and holding accountable those responsible for crimes committed during the past decade.

Documented data indicates that the mentioned individual rose through the military ranks until he attained the rank of general, and held a number of sensitive leadership positions through which he was involved in suppressing the Syrian people.