The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced that the Internal Security Units, in cooperation with the Counter-Terrorism Department, succeeded, through a lightning security operation, in arresting Major General Wajih Ali Al-Abdullah, who served for 13 years as Director of the Military Affairs Office of former Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad, who currently resides in Russia. The Ministry of the Interior explained that the arrested person is considered one of the pillars of the former regime’s inner circle, and directly responsible for coordinating the repressive practices and grave violations that affected Syrian civilians throughout his period of service in the Republican Palace. She said that investigation records revealed that Al-Abdullah assumed his duties in the Military Affairs Office from 2005 until 2018, a period she described as “the bloodiest in the country’s history.” The Ministry indicated that this arrest comes as part of a series of measures aimed at prosecuting senior officers accused of committing crimes against humanity during the period of the previous regime, in preparation for bringing them to fair trials.