Dutch police open investigation into suspected Syrian regime spy

Police in the Netherlands have opened an investigation into a Syrian refugee who is suspected of working as a spy for the Syrian regime. 

The man, identified only as Anas I, is accused of sending regular reports to Damascus, detailing the activities of refugees living in the country. Additionally, he is accused of travelling to Damascus to meet with Syrian officials from the Assad regime.

Accusations were made by other Syrian refugees who have warned that they will deal with the suspected spy themselves, if the police do not. 

Elsewhere in the Netherlands, a Syrian refugee accused of committed war crimes in his homeland has disappeared. 

According to the International Crimes Team in the Netherlands, the man was under suspicion for committing war crimes, but had not officially been named as a suspect, according to reports by Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. 

The police announced that they were no longer aware of his location. 

Although the International Crimes have investigated a number of Syrian in the Netherlands, they have yet to make any prosecutions. 

Since 2011, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has engaged in a brutal campaign to crush an uprising opposed to its rule. The Syrian regime has been accused of numerous war crimes, including massacres, using chemical weapons and torturing and executing prisoners. 

The conflict in the country has forced millions from their homes, with hundreds of thousands making the arduous trip to seek refuge in Europe. 

It is believed that the regime has sent a number of its supporters to European countries to spy on and intimidate refugees.

Earlier this year, a German court sentenced one Syrian refugee to four and a half years in prison for war crimes committed in Syria, while another is awaiting a verdict.