Syrian intelligence officers and regime figures hiding in Beirut

Hundreds of Syrian Intelligence and military officers, plus Assad regime dignitaries, some of whom are subject to U.S. sanctions have managed to reach Beirut with the complicity of Hezbollah and corrupt General Security officers.

Between Beirut Hotels and the Southern Suburbs

According to Nidaalwatan website two security sources, relatives of Bashar al-Assad and prominent figures of the regime have been hiding specifically in two Beirut five stars hotels and in the famous Dahiyé.

General Ali Mamlouk,  convicted by the Lebanese judiciary for “terrorist acts” in the case of the “al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques,” is hiding in the Beirut Dahiyé, under the protection of Hezbollah.

The mother of Billionaire Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad’s maternal aunt, is hiding in the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut. It is also reported that her cousins are present in Beirut as well.

Firas Issa Shalish (the nephew of Zu al-Himma Shalish, involved in the Hama and Jisr al-Shughur massacres during Hafez al-Assad’s era), is hiding in the Movenpick Beirut Hotel.

Similarly, Khaled Kadour, a Syrian businessman close to Maher al-Assad, who is on the U.S. sanctions list for “providing financial, material, or technical support knowingly to Maher al-Assad or participating in significant operations with him knowingly,” according to the U.S. Treasury Department, is also in Movenpick Beirut.

It is noted that tight security measures, with multiple security patrols, surround the hotels in Beirut where these figures are hiding (up to three patrols per hotel).

Bribes and Involvement of General Security Elements

According to the security sources, the escape of Syrian intelligence officers and regime figures began a few days before the fall of Damascus, specifically during the days of the fall of Aleppo and Homs, facilitated by Hezbollah and by a Lebanese General Security officer at the border, Ahmad Nakd, who has ties with Ali Mamlouk.

Despite Hezbollah’s facilitation of their escape, these intelligence officers fled with the help of bribes to General Security personnel (reaching thousands of dollars), while Hezbollah’s role involved facilitating their passage by changing the license plates of their vehicles from Syrian to Lebanese ones.

This occurred at the legal crossings, particularly at the Masnaa border, while at the illegal crossings, especially in Hermel, the number of Syrian security and intelligence figures escaping without any restrictions is estimated to be in the thousands.

A Related Issue on Displacement

Later, “Nidaa al-Watan” learned that General Security officer Ahmad Nakd executed the order issued by General Security Director, Major General Elias Bissari, granting him “leave” on the evening of the previous day.

The information adds that Nakd, who is the head of the Masnaa border center and has close ties with Maher al-Assad and Ali Mamlouk, initially refused to implement the order. It is also reported that Nakd was in direct communication with Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah’s Coordination and Liaison Unit.

The information further reveals that Nakd oversaw the facilitation of the passage of hundreds of luxury Syrian cars, carrying Syrian political, security, and military figures loyal to the previous Syrian regime.

Investigative journalists and security agencies observed his method of operation at the crossing, which involved creating a “crowd and loss of control” plan, allowing a large number of arrivals from the Sayyida Zaynab area, including people of Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian, Afghan, and Iraqi nationalities, to enter without any identification documents.

After the order for leave was carried out, Officer Ihab al-Darani assumed responsibilities at the center. It was also learned that a group from Hezbollah’s security committee is present at the Masnaa crossing, trying to coordinate with Officer al-Darani for the movement of the Syrian regime’s figures.

In this context, “Nidaa al-Watan” learned that Syrian figures, including General Ghassan Nafi Bilal, the director of Maher al-Assad’s office and his deputy in the Fourth Division, and Colonel Firas Hikmat Kredi, a security officer in the Fourth Division, are present with Lebanese General Security at the Masnaa border point. They are both fugitives from death sentences in Syria, with one of them carrying a forged identity under a name from the “Khater” family.