Syria arrests Mihrac Ural over 2013 Al-Bayda and Ras al-Nabaa massacres Syrian authorities arrest Ali Kayali, known as Mihrac Ural, over the 2013 Al-Bayda and Ras al-Nabaa massacres in Tartus Governorate that killed hundreds of civilians. Syrian authorities have arrested Ali Kayali, widely known as Mihrac Ural, over the 2013 massacres in the village of al-Bayda and the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood of Baniyas, both in Syria's western Tartus Governorate. The General Intelligence Directorate said it detained Kayali on Thursday while he was attempting to flee across the border, describing him as the main suspect in the Baniyas massacres. The announcement came more than 13 years after the killings, in which hundreds of civilians, including women and children, were summarily executed during the rule of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al Assad.Mihrac Ural arrest renews scrutinySyrian authorities linked Kayali and his armed group to the Al-Bayda and Ras al-Nabaa massacres. The General Intelligence Directorate said he was trying to cross the border when he was detained, and it named him the main suspect in the killings.Videos circulated online showed mosques in Al-Bayda broadcasting chants of Allahu Akbar. Those sharing the footage said residents were celebrating news of the arrest.Kayali's detention 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. The ministry said the deputy, 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.What happened in Al-Bayda and Ras al-NabaaThe 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. The operations included summary executions and mass killings of civilians.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.UN inquiry points to war crimesThe UN investigation concluded that Assad regime forces and allied armed groups, including the National Defence Forces, were responsible for killings amounting to war crimes.Bashar al Assad led Syria from 2000 until late 2024, when his regime was ousted. The massacres occurred during his tenure, at a time when the Syrian uprising had escalated into a wider conflict.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.Families press for accountabilityIn 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.The arrest of Kayali has renewed attention to the 2013 killings and to the wider question of justice for violations committed under the former regime. Relatives of victims have long called for prosecutions and for information about those who disappeared.Syrian authorities have now announced the detention of both Kayali and his deputy, a move that families and rights advocates see as a first step in a longer process of accountability.