Syrian authorities announced the arrest of former military general Adnan Aboud Hilweh on April 30, 2026, in Damascus, over his alleged role in the 2013 Eastern Ghouta chemical attack.
According to statements from Syria’s Interior Ministry cited by regional and international outlets, Hilweh is accused of being among the key officers responsible for the sarin gas attack on opposition-held suburbs near Damascus.
The Eastern Ghouta attack, carried out on August 21, 2013, remains one of the deadliest incidents of the Syrian civil war, with estimates indicating more than 1,000 people were killed, many of them civilians.
Authorities said Hilweh is currently in custody under Syria’s new interim government, though no further details have been released regarding charges or potential trial proceedings.
The arrest comes amid a broader push to address alleged war crimes linked to the Syrian conflict, more than a decade after the Ghouta attack drew widespread international condemnation.
