The Syrian Interior Ministry announced in the early hours of Sunday, 27 July, that it had arrested several security personnel and former officers from the previous regime implicated in March’s “coastal events” during a series of security operations.
Abdul‑Aziz Hilal al‑Ahmad, head of internal security in Latakia province, said in a statement that specialised units had dismantled a “terrorist cell” led by Maher Hussein Ali in less than 24 hours. Ali, he said, had carried out previous attacks on internal security posts and was preparing new attacks on military and security sites in the province.
Investigations showed that the cell was coordinating directly with Maher al‑Assad and Waddah Suhail Ismail, the commander of the so‑called al‑Makzoon Regiment, and that it was receiving logistical support from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and other sectarian militias, according to the statement. Ahmad described the alleged coordination as part of an organised sabotage plan aimed at destabilising the region and threatening security along the Syrian coast.
The operations also led to the arrest of Malik Ali Abu Saleh, a former colonel in the Republican Guard who headed the so‑called “Coastal Operations Room,” which planned and coordinated attacks on Syrian army and security positions during the 6 March events. Ahmad said investigations indicate that Abu Saleh had been directly coordinating with unspecified external actors and receiving logistical support to carry out sabotage plans targeting the area’s security and stability.
Ahmad added that in a separate operation the authorities arrested Waddah Suhail Ismail, whom he accused of carrying out a series of “terrorist operations” in the Jableh area. Ismail was said to have been receiving direct orders from Suhail al‑Hassan and Ghiath Dalla as part of a systematic plan to destabilise the Syrian coast.
Findings of the coastal investigation committee
Yasser al-Farhan, spokesperson for the committee investigating the coastal events, presented its main findings at a press conference on 22 July attended by Enab Baladi. Farhan said the committee had handed its report to Syrian President Ahmad al‑Sharaa a few days earlier. According to Farhan, the committee identified individuals accused of violations during the coastal events, including 265 people who had joined outlawed armed groups linked to “remnants of Assad,” and a further 298 individuals from various participating forces who allegedly disobeyed orders and are suspected of committing abuses against civilians.
Al-Farhan explained that the committee’s conclusions were based on suspicion rather than conclusive evidence and that it withheld the suspects’ names, listing them in attached tables, and concealed the identities of some witnesses who feared being named. The committee confirmed the names of 1 426 people killed, including 90 women; most of the other victims were civilians, though some were former soldiers who had reconciled with the authorities. While not ruling out that some regime remnants were among the dead, the committee believes most of the killings occurred outside or after the end of the battles.
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