Syrian authorities arrest main suspect in 2013 Baniyas mass killings

Syrian officials apprehended Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, as he tried to cross the border, SANA reported.

Several former Assad officials have been arrested since the former Syrian president was toppled in December 2024 [File: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP]

Syrian authorities have arrested a suspect accused of involvement in the mass killing of civilians in the coastal city of Baniyas in 2013, according to state media.

Intelligence officials apprehended Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, as he tried to cross the border, state news agency SANA reported on Thursday.

Kayali has long been suspected of playing a leading role in the killing of civilians in Baniyas and the nearby village of Bayda in western Syria.

At the time, he led an armed group loyal to then-president Bashar al-Assad.

据叙利亚通讯社 (SANA) 报道，叙利亚官员在阿里·卡亚利（又名米赫拉克·乌拉尔）试图越境时将其抓获。

自叙利亚前总统阿萨德于2024年12月被推翻以来，已有数名阿萨德前官员被捕。[图片：巴德尔汗·艾哈迈德/美联社]

据叙利亚国家媒体报道，叙利亚当局逮捕了一名嫌疑人，该嫌疑人被指控参与了 2013 年发生在沿海城市巴尼亚斯的大规模平民屠杀事件。

据叙利亚国家通讯社SANA周四报道，情报官员在阿里·卡亚利（又名米赫拉克·乌拉尔）试图越境时将其抓获。

长期以来，人们一直怀疑卡亚利在叙利亚西部巴尼亚斯及其附近拜达村杀害平民的事件中扮演了主导角色。

当时，他领导着一支效忠于时任总统巴沙尔·阿萨德的武装团体。