Syria’s interim govt to disband al-Assad’s security agencies

Syria’s Transitional Government has vowed to restructure all security agencies of the toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime accused of mass killings and abuses.

Al-Assad, who ruled Syria for more than two decades, fled the country earlier this month as rebels advanced on the capital Damascus during a lighting sweep.

The interim government, installed by Syria’s new rulers, has since struggled to re-establish security.

It also pursued a crackdown on al-Assad’s loyalists suspected of atrocities in his region.

The newly appointed intelligence chief, Anas Khattab, said all security agencies would be disbanded and rebuilt.

“We will reconstitute the security establishment after dissolving all formation branches.

“We will restructure them in a way befitting our people,” Syria’s state news agency, SANA quoted Khattab as saying.

He accused al-Assad’s regime of exploiting the security apparatus to oppress Syrians.

“Our valiant people, with all their different sects and categories, have suffered a lot of injustice and oppression through various security services,” he said.

The transitional government’s security forces have rounded up around 300 suspects in less than a week.

This was through ongoing operations in several parts of Syria, a monitoring group reported on Sunday.

The arrests included former officers, security personnel and informants involved in detaining many Syrians.

Others were suspects who committed abuses under the protection of al-Assad’s regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added.

According to the UK-based observatory, Lebanon Saturday handed over to Syrian authorities around 70 Syrians, including ex-officers, at a border crossing between the two countries. (Agency Reports)