Syrian government forces hunt for a senior Assad official

Security forces for Syria’s new government were pursuing at least one senior official and military forces loyal to the former dictatorship Thursday as they struggled to tamp down unrest in a number of regions and stabilize the country.

Government forces have been searching for Mohammed Kanjou al-Hassan, a former official in charge of military justice under the ousted president, Bashar Assad, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group.

In 2023, Britain imposed sanctions on al-Hassan for “his involvement in repressing the civilian population in Syria,” according to an official record that listed targets of British sanctions. Al-Hassan was responsible for crimes at Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory.

An attempt to arrest al-Hassan on Wednesday set off deadly clashes in the western region around the port of Tartus — part of the heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority. Government security forces were ambushed by loyalists of the former government in the area, according to the Syrian Observatory.

Fourteen members of the government forces were killed, according to Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Syria’s interim interior minister.

The hunt for al-Hassan suggested that Syria’s new leaders were stepping up their efforts to pursue top members of the Assad dictatorship amid a clamor in the country for justice and accountability.

A central challenge for Syria’s new administration is to impose law and order while it attempts to hold members of the Assad regime accountable and build a system of governance.

The government forces deployed Thursday in al-Hassan’s hometown near Tartus on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. Sana, the state-run Syrian news agency, said the forces were sent to the area to pursue “remnants of Assad militias, protect civilians and restore security and stability.”