ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria has arrested nine pilots it said carried out "war crimes" against the Syrian people, as Damascus continues to make headway in efforts to hold officers accountable for involvement in attacks carried out against civilian areas under the regime of toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Internal security forces in Syria's western coastal province of Latakia said in a statement they "arrested nine pilots involved in committing war crimes against the Syrian people, in cooperation with the [country's] counterterrorism directorate."
The statement carried by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) late Thursday added that "the operation was the result of monitoring, tracking, intelligence gathering, and investigations, which led to a series of qualitative and precise security operations."
The arrested pilots "participated in crimes and violations against the Syrian people across several provinces," specifically "exploiting their military positions and specialization in fighter jet and helicopter aviation" to carry out "bombings and attacks that resulted in a large number of casualties, inflicted severe damage on cities and towns, and caused the displacement of residents alongside the destruction of homes, facilities, and civilian infrastructure."
The arrest comes amid a wider accountability effort launched by the Syrian leadership in the aftermath of Assad's December 2024 ouster to hold military commanders responsible for crimes committed under the toppled regime.
Internal security forces in Latakia on Saturday arrested Major General Jalal Kamel Saqr, former commander of the Syrian army's 18th infantry brigade, for war crimes and arbitrary detentions during the Syrian Civil War (2011 - 2024).
On Tuesday, authorities in the coastal Tartus province apprehended former Major General Mohammad Ali Durgham over his connection to firing live bullets at unarmed protesters in the Damascus suburbs and his involvement in the infamous 1982 Hama massacre.
The arrests are part of a broader accountability push that also extends to the Assad regime's chemical weapons program.
Ibrahim Olabi, Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations, last week stated that Damascus is "preparing to hold the first court hearing for the use of chemical weapons [against the Syrian people] to ensure that there will be no impunity." He made the remarks following the arrest of 18 former military and technical officials linked to the Assad regime's chemical weapons program.
"Syria's position on accountability is not open to compromise or interpretation," Olabi said in a speech before the Security Council.
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