Atef Najib (Arabic: عاطف نجيب; born 1964/1965) is a Syrian former officer and the political security chief in the city of Daraa, and a first cousin of President Bashar al-Assad.[1] He is known as being a catalyst for one of the flashpoints that ignited the Syrian civil war, when in 2011 he directed the abduction and torture of 15 boys who had written anti-Assad slogans in a public area in Daraa.[2] His aggressive actions prompted non-violent protests by local inhabitants, and - after fire was opened by security forces at a protest march - the gradual start of armed resistance.[1][3]
References
edit- ^ a b "Joined in blood". The National. 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
- ^ "Concerns over "rampant torture" - Syrian Arab Republic". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
- ^ "Syria: How it all began". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
Further reading
edit- Shadid, Anthony (2 May 2011). "In Syria, Reports of Arrests Proliferate". New York Times.
- Muir, Jim (24 March 2011). "Syria: Setting the country alight?". BBC News.
- Friedman, Uri. "U.S. Responds to Syrian Crackdown with New Round of Sanctions". The Atlantic Wire.
- Sands, Phil (20 March 2014). "Blood ties: the shadowy member of the Assad clan who ignited the Syrian conflict". The National.
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