Lebanon Arrests Ex-Syrian General, May Extradite Him to Damascus

Key developments

Lebanese authorities detained Maj. Gen. Adel Issa, a former commander of Syria’s 17th Division, after he visited the Syrian embassy in Beirut for paperwork. Embassy staff informed Lebanon’s public prosecutor that Issa was wanted in Syria; a team from the Central Criminal Investigation Department arrested him and transferred him to the Beirut Palace of Justice. Issa has denied the accusations and told interrogators he crossed into Lebanon illegally after the fall of Bashar Assad’s government. Officials say they will wait for Syria to send a formal charge sheet before deciding whether to hand him over, with a decision expected next week.

This case could mark the first time Beirut returns an Assad-era officer to Damascus since Assad’s ouster in December 2024, when many military and security figures fled to neighboring Lebanon. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Issa later led ground forces in Deir el-Zour and retired in 2016. The arrest comes amid ongoing prosecutions and arrests of former regime security personnel in Syria; Lebanese and judicial officials involved in the case spoke on condition of anonymity. as reported by AP News

This story has also been reported by: Al Jazeera, ABC News