General Adnan Abboud Hilweh, a high-ranking officer from the former Assad regime
Syria arrests former general over 2013 chemical attack
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- Syrian authorities has arrested General Adnan Abboud Hilweh, a high-ranking officer from the former Assad regime.
- Hilweh is accused of playing a key role in the 2013 chemical weapons massacre in Eastern Ghouta that killed over 1,400 people.
The Syrian government announced Wednesday that it has detained Adnan Abboud Hilweh, a prominent general from the era of Bashar al-Assad.
Hilweh is allegedly responsible for one of the most horrific atrocities of the Syrian war: the 2013 chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.
Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab confirmed the arrest in a post on X, stating that Hilweh is now in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department.
اللواء عدنان عبود حلوة أحد أبرز الضباط المسؤولين عن مجزرة الكيماوي في الغوطة الشرقية عام 2013 بات اليوم في قبضة إدارة مكافحة الارهاب. pic.twitter.com/24QktTSIO6
— أنس حسان خطاب (@Anas_Khattab_sy) April 29, 2026
The Ghouta Massacre
The 2013 attack involved the use of sarin nerve gas, which US intelligence and international observers say killed more than 1,000 people many of them children. The massacre which sparked global outrage.
Accountability and Sanctions
General Hilweh has been a target of international justice for years. In 2022, the US State Department officially designated Hilweh and two other generals for their involvement in "gross violations of human rights."
The US accused him of a "flagrant denial of the right to life" and banned him and his immediate family from entering the country.
Interior Minister Khattab, described Hilweh as "one of the most prominent officers" behind the chemical strike. The arrest is seen as a major step by the new Syrian administration to hold members of the previous regime accountable for war crimes.
