The arrest on Thursday of Ali Kayali, better known as Mihrac Ural, has renewed attention to the 2013 massacres in the village of al-Bayda and the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood of Baniyas, both in Syria’s western Tartus Governorate.
They involved mass killings and summary executions of hundreds of civilians, including women and children, during the tenure of ousted Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad, who led the country from 2000 until late 2024.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said the General Intelligence Directorate had arrested Kayali while he was attempting to flee across the border, describing him as the “main suspect” in the Baniyas massacres.
Videos circulated online showed mosques in Al-Bayda broadcasting chants of “Allahu Akbar,” with those sharing the footage saying residents were celebrating news of his arrest.
The massacres took place on May 2 and 3 2013, when Assad regime forces and allied armed groups carried out military operations in Al-Bayda and the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood of Baniyas that included summary executions and mass killings of civilians.
The massacres
According to an August 2013 report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, regime forces surrounded Al-Bayda on May 2, closed access routes and shelled the town before entering alongside members of the National Defence Forces.
The commission documented arrests and summary executions of civilians as well as dozens of bodies found inside homes and in the streets. Some had been burned, while others bore signs of having been beaten with blunt objects.
The following day, the operation extended to Ras al-Nabaa, where attacking forces surrounded the area, prevented residents from leaving through the main roads, shelled the neighbourhood and then entered it. Families, including children, were among those executed.
The UN commission found that the two operations were linked and said there was no indication of armed opposition activity in either area during the killings.
It estimated that between 150 and 250 civilians were killed in Al-Bayda and between 150 and 200 in Ras al-Nabaa.
The UN investigation concluded that Assad regime forces and allied armed groups, including the National Defence Forces, were responsible for killings amounting to war crimes.
Kayali’s role
During the Syrian uprising, Kayali led an armed group known as the Syrian Resistance, which fought alongside Assad regime forces and took part in military operations in several parts of the country.
Syrian authorities linked Kayali and his group to the Al-Bayda and Ras al-Nabaa massacres and announced his arrest more than 13 years after the killings.
On October 4, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced the arrest of Jamal Trabelsi, Kayali’s deputy.
The ministry said Trabelsi had participated in combat operations in support of the former regime, including the Al-Bayda and Ras al-Nabaa massacres, as well as fighting in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.
Kayali’s arrest came 11 days after his deputy was detained, marking a new development in efforts to pursue those accused of violations committed during the former regime’s rule.
In May, residents of Baniyas and its countryside marked the anniversary of the massacres, demanding accountability for those responsible and answers about the fate of missing people.
