A cousin of the former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad who was involved in suppressing the protests that started the 2011 uprising has been detained inside Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

Atef Najib is accused of organizing the violent crackdown in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, the starting point of the 2011 protests.

BEIRUT, January 31. /TASS/. Atef Najib, a maternal cousin of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, was detained by the country's new authorities, Syria TV reported. The report didn’t say where ...

Atef Najib was detained in the Latakia region, an Assad family stronghold where some loyalists of the former regime have taken refuge. Assad and his family fled to Russia when rebels swept across ...

TASS/. Syria’s new government has confirmed earlier reports about the detention of Atef Najib, a maternal cousin of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, Director of General Security ...

Atef Najib was detained in the Latakia region, an Assad family stronghold where some loyalists of the former regime have taken refuge. Assad and his family fled to Russia when rebels swept across the ...