Head of the intelligence services, Anas Jattab, announced last Saturday (28) a plan to ‘restructure’ the feared institution that during decades of rule by the Assad family, was used as an instrument of repression of the Syrian people
The new head of the intelligence services of Anas Jattab, announced last Saturday (28) a plan to “restructure” the feared institution under the government of deposed president Bashar Al Assad, which includes the “dissolution” of all its divisions. During decades of family rule the security services were instruments of repression, feared by the Syrian population.
“The security institution will be reformed after the dissolution of all services and its restructuring, in order to honor our people,” declared Jattab, two days after being appointed by the new authorities that overthrew Assad on December 8. In a statement released by the official Sana news agency, the intelligence chief highlighted the suffering of Syrians “under the oppression and tyranny of the former regime, through its various security apparatuses that spread corruption and inflicted torture” on the people.
People arrested by the secret services were released, mainly in Damascus, after authorities and security agents linked to the Assad government escaped. Most of these locations are now under the control of Islamist fighters from Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), the group that led the armed coalition responsible for taking power in the country. Many Syrians headed to the capital’s security centers hoping to obtain information about their missing family members.
The situation of tens of thousands of prisoners and missing remains one of the most painful aspects of the drama in Syria, devastated by more than 13 years of war that left more than half a million dead. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), more than 100,000 people have died in Syrian prisons and detention centers since the start of the conflict in 2011, triggered after the brutal repression of pro-democracy demonstrations.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Victor Oliveira
