Damascus – Action Group
An extensive journalistic investigation published by Al-Jumhuriya website, titled “The Internal File of the Tadamon Massacre,” revealed internal documents issued by the Syrian regime’s Military Intelligence Directorate in 2022. These documents contain new information regarding the massacre that took place in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus during 2012 and 2013.
According to the investigation, the information was based on 22 internal security documents, including memos, investigations, and correspondence between different security branches. The documents revealed that the killings in the neighborhood were not isolated acts, but rather part of an organized security operation involving multiple entities.
The documents included statements attributed to the accused, Amjad Youssef, who spoke of receiving direct orders from officers in Branch 227 of the Military Intelligence Directorate coordinating with the National Defense Forces militia, the military judiciary, and the Palestine Branch.
Furthermore, the documents explained that the killings and enforced disappearances occurred in several phases, beginning before 2012, before expanding during 2012 and 2013, ultimately transforming, according to the investigation, into organized mass extermination.
The file of “Tadamon Massacre” is one of the most prominent cases related to the violations that the capital Damascus witnessed during the years of conflict, after the spread of video recordings in 2022 that showed field executions of civilians in the neighborhood.