Lebanon Extradites Former Syrian General to Damascus Following Arrest Warrant

Bullet holes pepper a billboard of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria, on December 16, 2024.

Lebanon has transferred a former senior Syrian army officer to Damascus to face serious charges including murder and torture. This marks the first such handover since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

The individual involved is Major-General Adel Issa, who previously commanded the Syrian army’s 17th Division and later directed ground forces in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zur.

Syria’s Ministry of Interior verified his handover into custody via a statement released on Wednesday, noting that a Syrian arrest warrant accuses Issa of intentional homicide, facilitating a felony, killing multiple individuals, torture leading to death, and crimes intended to provoke civil war and sectarian strife. A Damascus referral judge will review his case before potential referral to a criminal court.

Sources indicate that Issa, aged 67, denies all allegations. He was initially detained on August 8 after visiting the Syrian embassy in Beirut for paperwork, where embassy staff notified the prosecutor’s office of his fugitive status.

This extradition follows sustained pressure from Damascus for Lebanon to deport former regime officials who fled following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024. President Ahmed al-Sharaa currently leads the nation, and Syrian authorities previously provided Lebanese officials with a list exceeding 200 wanted former officers. Meanwhile, Bashar al-Assad, currently living in exile in Moscow, was recently sentenced to death in absentia by a Damascus court.