Skip to main content

Army defector’s photos encourage greater US role in Syria

"Caesar" tells Congress 150,000 prisoners face awful fate in Assad’s jails.
ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH
The man credited with smuggling 50,000 photos said to document Syrian government atrocities, a Syrian Army defector known by the protective alias Caesar (disguised in a hooded blue jacket), listens to his interpreter as he prepares to speak at a briefing to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) TEMPLATE OUT - RTR40T2R

A Syrian army defector’s photos of emaciated and brutalized corpses drew bipartisan calls for greater US involvement during a House hearing on Thursday.

The anonymous military photographer known as “Caesar” appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee cloaked in a blue hoodie alongside several advocates of greater US involvement in Syria's 3-year-old civil war. He told lawmakers that 150,000 people remain in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s prisons and urged the Obama administration and Congress to do all they can to end the slaughter in Syria.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.