London, June 21 (SANA) A 2026 United Kingdom production by filmmaker Sam Benstead examines a covert operation led by Syrian academic Annsar Shahoud, who created a fake online identity to contact a suspect in the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, according to the film.
The documentary, titled “Killing Anna,” shows Shahoud, based in Amsterdam, using the alias “Anna” to engage Amjad Youssef, an intelligence operative and suspect in the massacre linked to the ousted Syrian regime. The four-year operation was conducted in cooperation with genocide studies professor Ugur Ümit Üngör.
The Tadamon massacre occurred on April 16, 2013, in the Tadamon neighbourhood south of Damascus. According to local and human rights documentation, unarmed civilians were arrested, blindfolded, and bound before being taken to a mass execution site, where more than 288 people were killed.
The film premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival and was later screened at Sheffield DocFest, with additional screenings scheduled in London from June 19.
Over 76 minutes, it shows Shahoud and Üngör reviewing footage of the massacre depicting civilians being killed and bodies disposed of in a pit. The pair identified Youssef via social media and contacted him from 2018 using the “Anna” persona, including video calls that featured pro-ousted regime symbols.
According to the documentary, Youssef later admitted involvement in the killings, saying he had “taken revenge” and had “killed many people.”
The film states that after the investigation became public, Shahoud received threats, including from Youssef, and later withdrew from public digital activity. She ended the project in 2025 by destroying materials linked to the fake identity.
It adds that accountability for the Tadamon massacre has remained limited during the ousted regime period, though one linked individual was tried in Hamburg, Germany. It also refers to the arrest of Youssef by the new Syrian government.
The documentary further references media reports published in 2022 and states that footage submitted to German investigators documents the massacre.
Shahoud is shown describing psychological strain from the operation, describing the “Anna” persona as a coping mechanism for trauma.
The film concludes with the retirement of the “Anna” identity, raising broader questions about accountability and trauma linked to the Syrian conflict.
Muhmmad Fares
