The Syrian army’s elite Fourth Division was headed by Maher al-Assad, who led a massive drug empire [Scott Peterson/Getty]
Lebanon’s acting Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal Hajjar received a telegram from Interpol requesting that Lebanese authorities arrest Jamil Hassan, head of the notorious Syrian Air Force Intelligence in the Assad regime, Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday.
A judicial source told the newspaper that the American cable called on Lebanon’s judicial and security authorities to arrest Hassan if he is on Lebanese territory, or to arrest him if he attempts to enter Lebanon, and hand him over to the US.
The telegram was circulated among all Interpol members.
The American cable accuses Hassan of committing war crimes and genocide, holding him directly responsible for dropping thousands of tons of explosive barrels on the Syrian people and killing thousands of innocent civilians with the help of military and security officials “over whom information is being collected.”
Hassan was convicted in absentia earlier this year in France for his role in imprisoning, disappearing, and torturing two Syrian-French nationals. He is also wanted by Germany.
Dozens of regime officers detained in Lebanon
In Lebanon, dozens of officers from the former Syrian regime, including the notorious Fourth Armoured Division, have reportedly been arrested after escaping into the country following Bashar al-Assad’s ouster by rebels.
Lebanese judicial sources revealed that the military personnel were apprehended after they crossed illegally into Lebanon from Syria, following a lightning rebel offensive that overran Damascus on 8 December, forcing Assad out of the country and ending more than half a century of Baathist rule.
There had been speculation that several regime officials escaped to Lebanon and either stayed in the country or went abroad through Beirut Airport, and while Lebanese authorities had initially denied the “rumours,” they later confirmed some cases.
Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi said Thursday that “those wanted from the former Syrian regime have their pictures circulated” at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, adding that “security errors cannot occur” at the airport.
The Assad-era figures are wanted by Syria’s de-facto Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rulers who led the rebellion.
Selling their weapons for as little as $20
More than 20 officers and soldiers have been arrested in Lebanon so far, among them six officers from the Fourth Division, who had reportedly been selling weapons to Lebanese citizens, multiple news outlets citing judicial and security sources have said.
The elite Fourth Division was led by Bashar al-Assad’s brother, Maher, who also allegedly ran a Captagon drug empire. Mawlawi had confirmed that Maher’s wife and children “legally” left Lebanon via the Beirut airport.
The officers fled from Syria towards Lebanon in their military uniforms, and in possession of weapons and other military equipment.
After close monitoring, Lebanese authorities began arresting these individuals one by one, who were caught selling their weapons at very low prices, ranging between $20 and $30, Almodon news site said.
They have refused to return to Syria in fear for their lives, security sources told Almodon, due to their connections with the ousted regime and any violations they may have committed during the nearly 14-year Syrian war.
Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper said only three of those caught have expressed willingness to return to Syria and find a settlement with the new authorities there.
‘Cooperate with HTS’
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has given instructions to all Lebanese institutions to coordinate with HTS on all common security issues between the two countries, a source close to Mikati told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
The first sign of this cooperation began with a meeting held earlier this week between Lebanon’s General Security apparatus and HTS at the Masnaa border crossing, the source said, adding: “What matters most to Mikati is controlling the security situation on the both sides of the border.”
Reports from the Lebanese army indicate that Syrian authorities have managed to control 80 percent of illegal crossings along the two countries’ porous and nondemarcated border, that had been used as smuggling routes for many years.
Mikati has not made any direct contacts yet with HTS chief and Syrian de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Lebanese government is yet to announce plans to send a delegation to Damascus to reopen Lebanon’s embassy there.