Syria arrests 'Butcher of Baniyas' accused of 2013 coastal massacres

Ali Kayali, 70, known as Mihrac Ural, commanded al-Assad-affiliated militia forces that carried out summary executions of more than 450 civilians in Bayda and Baniyas in May 2013. Syria's General Intelligence Directorate has arrested Ali Kayali, the al-Assad era militia commander linked to the 2013 Bayda and Baniyas massacres, as he attempted to flee the country, state-run SANA news agency reported. Known by his alias Mihrac Ural, Kayali is accused of commanding armed groups that carried out killings alongside forces of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, including in the coastal province of Tartus, and in rural areas of Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited unnamed sources who said Kayali was taken from his home in the Mansourieh area of Lebanon, not at a Syrian border crossing. According to those sources, armed men with Lebanese accents entered the property, apprehended Kayali's wife and brother-in-law, and removed him from the premises. Lebanese authorities have not commented on this report. Kayali, 70, has been linked to the killings in Bayda and Baniyas in May 2013, when regime forces and allied militias stormed residential areas in Tartus province and carried out summary executions of civilians. The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented 264 deaths in Bayda, including 36 children and 28 women, and 195 in Ras al-Nabeh, including 56 children and 43 women. A Human Rights Watch report published in September 2013 documented at least 248 deaths across the two locations, noting the real figure was likely higher. Witness accounts described bodies left in streets, shops and basements, executions carried out with firearms and bladed weapons, and homes set alight alongside the dead. Who is Ali Kayali? Born in the Turkish city of Antakya in 1956, Kayali was active in armed organisations including the Popular Salvation Front in Turkey and the Front for the Liberation of the Iskenderun Brigade, both designated terrorist organisations by Ankara. He fled to Syria in 1982, obtained Syrian citizenship and changed his name. He reportedly cultivated close ties to the al-Assad family through his wife. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, he took command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Iskenderun Brigade, which fought alongside regime forces, primarily along Syria's coast. Kayali's detention follows that of Jamal Trabelsi, described in reports as his deputy, who was arrested by Syria's Internal Security Forces on 4 October. Turkish authorities announced the separate arrest of Omar al-Khatib earlier this month as he attempted to reach Europe by sea. Media reports describe him as one of the planners of the Reyhanli bombing and say he coordinated with members of al-Assad-era intelligence services. Syria's Interior Ministry has said it is continuing to pursue individuals accused of involvement in abuses under the former regime as part of efforts to achieve transitional justice. Damascus has stepped up efforts to restore trust in Syria's government and its services following a 13-year-long war in the country that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and saw millions displaced and seeking refuge outside the country. Trust in authorities in neighbouring Lebanon is among the lowest in the world, with 56% of Lebanese citizens believing the government does not care about them at all, about double the global figure (29%), according to the latest research by Gallup for Lloyd's Register Foundation's World Risk Poll.