Ministry of Interior

Syria's Interior Ministry, headed by Anas Khattab; it oversees the General Security Service and the internal security forces.

Also known as

Interior Ministry
MoI

Supported by independent sources

Headed by Anas Khattab. ¹ It oversees the General Security Service. ² In May 2025 it merged the police and public security agencies into an Internal Security Command in each governorate. ³

Supported by independent sources

The UN Commission of Inquiry found that many reported abductions of women and girls in 2025, mostly Alawite, had not been effectively investigated, and that in some cases security officials discouraged families from pursuing them; the ministry said in November 2025 that only one of 42 reported cases was a genuine abduction. ⁴ ⁵ Read the article

People and bodies linked to it

Supported by independent sources
According to testimony
Published allegation
Person
Organisation

Leader Anas Khattab (since 2025) Supported¹
Sub-unit General Security Service (since 2025) Supported²

Sources

Official record United States leads effort to delist Syrian leaders (UN delisting of Ahmed al-Sharaa and Anas Hasan Khattab; U.S. SDGT delistings) — U.S. Department of State, November 7, 2025
Press Minutes to leave: Syria’s Alawites evicted from private homes at gunpoint (by Amina Ismail) — Reuters, April 30, 2025
Official record Interior Ministry creates a new structure (merger of police and public security into an Internal Security Command in each governorate) — SANA, May 24, 2025
Official record Report A/HRC/61/62 (covering 8 December 2024 – 31 January 2026), including the government’s note verbale of 28 January 2026 — UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, March 12, 2026
Official record Ministry of Interior press conference on its investigation into 42 reported abductions of women (spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba) — SANA, November 2, 2025
Note: Cited by the UN Commission of Inquiry, A/HRC/61/62, footnote 82.