Death Makers: The 10 Most Prominent Generals in the Ousted Assad Regime Who Built Hell for Syrians for Decades and Disappeared After Its Fall

Following the resounding fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Syrians are increasingly demanding the prosecution of former officials of the ousted regime. The list includes prominent former Assad military officials who have committed and contributed to killings and violations over the years, from the use of chemical weapons against Syrians to bombings and torture of detainees.

In this report, we monitor the 10 most prominent former leaders of the Assad regime who are considered among the most violent in the ousted regime, and who have been subjected to American and European sanctions due to their serious violations in Syria. Statements by human rights organizations, and statements by Syrian opposition leaders who have come to power, indicate that these leaders and others will be pursued, inside and outside Syria.

1- Maher al-Assad, from the Sednaya massacre to Captagon

At the forefront of the prominent names is Maher al-Assad, the brother of the deposed regime president and the third son of Hafez al-Assad. Since 2018, Maher al-Assad has commanded the Fourth Division of the regime’s army, which was considered the “elite unit” in the Assad regime’s army, and was the most prominent official responsible for suppressing the Syrian revolution and invading and destroying the cities that revolted against the regime since March 2011.

Maher al-Assad is considered one of the most prominent figures involved in the regime’s Sednaya prison massacre on July 5, 2008, after a group of detainees carried out a mutiny inside the prison.

WikiLeaks published documents confirming that the regime committed a massacre inside the prison in 2008, and estimated that 25 detainees were killed inside the prison, and pictures of detainees who were also released after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, shocked the world.

Maher al-Assad was like an “independent state of his own” within Syria, and the Mezzeh military airport was under his command, and this airport played a major role in bombing the neighborhoods and towns that revolted against the regime in the Damascus countryside.

Maher al-Assad enjoyed great wealth in Syria, and the Syrians learned more details about it after some of them entered his house in Damascus after he fled, and found basements under his house, and equipment for wrapping money, in addition to the obscene wealth in the house itself.

The Fourth Division, led by Maher al-Assad, played a major role in securing and facilitating the trade of Captagon and transporting it from factories to Syrian ports, in preparation for its transfer outside Syria.

European and American sanctions have targeted Maher al-Assad since 2011, and he was also subjected to the “Caesar Sanctions” in 2020, which were imposed against the backdrop of the leaking of tens of thousands of photos of detainees killed by the regime in prisons.

2- Jamil Al Hassan, inventor of explosive barrels

Al-Hassan served as director of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate in Syria, which was known for its brutal torture of detainees in its prisons. Al-Hassan was one of Bashar al-Assad’s closest advisers, and was known for his strong support for the bloody suppression of the Syrian people.

The Air Force Intelligence Service, which Hassan led, was involved in torturing detainees, and officials in charge of this security service are accused of committing murders, rapes, and the killing of hundreds, and America imposed sanctions on Hassan due to his involvement in committing violations against civilians.

Hassan is considered one of the Assad regime’s most vocal supporters of “excessive repression.” In an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency in 2016, Hassan argued that the Assad regime’s previous response to the 2011 protests was inadequate, and said it should be similar to the one in Hama in 1982, where tens of thousands of civilians were killed within days.

Al-Hassan cited another example in the square of students in China who were demonstrating against the authorities, and said: “If the Chinese state had not put an end to the students’ chaos, China would have been lost and the West would have lost it.”

Hassan is credited with the idea of bombing Syrians with explosive barrels, a claim made by a Lebanese analyst loyal to the Syrian regime, Mikhail Awad, who said in a television interview that he saluted Hassan for his “role in making the explosive barrels that Assad adopted after his advice,” considering that they “were more effective than cruise missiles, and less expensive.”

3- Suhail al-Hassan and the scorched earth policy

Colonel Suheil al-Hassan was one of the most prominent field military commanders in the forces of the ousted Assad regime. His supporters called him “the Tiger,” and he and his forces were known for the extreme cruelty they used against civilians in areas outside their control, and during the battles he fought against opposition forces.

The battles that Hassan was waging against the opposition areas took on a prominent feature, which was following a scorched earth policy, as he relied on the air superiority that was supported by it. At first, the planes would launch dozens of raids before his ground forces entered.

Al-Hassan repeatedly expressed his support for the idea of "military crushing." His excessive brutality in fighting opponents of the regime caught the attention of Russia, which provided him with significant air support in his battles, helping him achieve military victories.

Suheil al-Hassan's influence in the regime's army reached a point where the Russians honored him for his leadership of the battles in Syria. Russian support for al-Hassan reached a point where he competed with Bashar al-Assad for influence within the army, relying on the great influence enjoyed by his forces, known as the "Tiger Forces."

In 2017, Bashar al-Assad rewarded Suheil al-Hassan and decided to appoint him as head of the northern branch of the Air Force Intelligence. However, al-Hassan did not play a prominent role in the battles that began on November 27, 2024, which eventually led to the fall of Assad. Al-Hassan was injured in these battles, and his forces did not withstand the attacks of the opposition forces.

In 2017, the United States imposed sanctions on Suheil al-Hassan, along with 16 other officials, for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

4- Ali Mamlouk, Assad's security arm

Ali Mamlouk held the position of Assad's advisor for national security affairs, in addition to many sensitive security positions within the Assad regime, such as the head of the General Intelligence Service (State Security) in 2005, and the head of the investigation branch of the Air Force Intelligence.

Mamlouk is one of the most prominent figures in the regime who played an important role in developing intelligence capabilities in Syria and increasing the suppression of freedoms for Syrians.

Among the major tasks assigned to Mamluk during his career in the Assad regime was supervising the regime's chemical program. He was one of the officers supervising chemical weapons experiments during the period 1985-1995, and their use against political detainees in Tadmur Prison in "Unit 417" of the Air Force Intelligence, located near the "Al-Safa" rest house in the Abu Al-Shamat area in the Syrian desert.

Chemical weapons were then tested on detainees, and then traces of the crime in the area were erased by bombing it with warplanes, according to the organization "With Justice."

Mamlouk played a major role in suppressing the protests in Syria, as he was a member of the "Crisis Management Cell" that was formed to confront the opposition, and Europe, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Mamlouk for his participation in carrying out violations in Syria.

5- Mohammed Rahmon, leader of the "Death Branch"

Before the fall of the Assad regime, Mohammed Rahmoun held the position of Minister of Interior. He is considered one of the security figures in Syria known for his involvement in arresting and torturing civilians.

Before becoming Minister of Interior, Rahmoun held several security positions, including the presidency of the Air Force Intelligence Department in Daraa in 2004, then the presidency of the Air Force Intelligence in the southern region, which was headquartered in the city of Harasta in the Damascus countryside, in addition to the presidency of the Political Security Division.

The Harasta Air Force Branch is known as the “Branch of Death.” The branch was filled with detainees who had demonstrated against Assad. It was also known to be like a well-fortified military barracks.

In a previous report published by the Violations Documentation Center in Syria, it was noted that the Air Force Intelligence branch in Harasta was considered one of the most ferocious security agencies of the regime, with wide-ranging powers. The branch contained five collective detention rooms and five solitary confinement rooms, all of which were underground.

The types of violations against detainees in the Harasta Air Intelligence Branch included leaving them until they were ravaged by diseases, in addition to leaving them for days without food, burning them with nylon, torturing their sensitive organs, beating them with batons, burning them with lighters, and burning them with tires. All of these methods were aimed at harming the detainees physically and psychologically.

Hours before Assad fell, Rahmoun, who is on the US sanctions list, made a statement from central Damascus saying that there was a security cordon around Damascus that was difficult to cross. But it wasn’t long before opposition forces entered the capital, and Rahmoun disappeared.

6- Zuhair al-Assad and killing in the “Triangle of Death”

Zuhair al-Assad is Hafez al-Assad's half-brother. He graduated from the Military College of the Defense Brigades, which was involved in committing the Hama massacre in 1982, and which was led at the time by Rifaat al-Assad (Bashar al-Assad's uncle).

Zuhair al-Assad played a prominent role in suppressing the Syrian protests when he was in charge of the 90th Brigade in Quneitra Governorate. According to the Pro Justice Center, “Brigadier General Zuhair al-Assad is directly responsible for all the crimes committed by the 90th Brigade members in the western Damascus countryside, Quneitra, and Daraa.”

Among Zuhair al-Assad's methods of punishing opponents of the regime was imposing a siege on opposition areas and depriving them of food. In 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on Zuhair al-Assad.

7- Atef Naguib who arrested the children

With the beginning of the revolution in Syria in 2011, the name of Brigadier General Atef Najib became widely known, as he was one of the main reasons that sparked the protests in Syria. Najib was responsible for arresting a group of children in Daraa Governorate, because they wrote slogans calling for freedom on the walls of their school.

Najib, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, was the head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa. He was placed on the sanctions list by the European Union and the United States in 2011, due to his role in suppressing demonstrations inside Syria.

8- Bassam Marhej Al-Hassan, supervisor of the use of “Chemistry”

Major General Bassam, who served as director of the security and military office in the presidential palace, is among the most prominent officers in Assad’s army who played a role in the use of chemical weapons against Syrians.

Major General Bassam held several sensitive positions, such as managing the Intelligence Office in the Republican Palace, the Guard Company, and the Parade Company. According to the “With Justice” Institute, Bassam was one of the most prominent officials directly responsible for passing military orders from the Republican Palace to the regime’s army units in the past.

Bassam was placed on US, EU, Canadian and UK sanctions lists. Britain said the general had a role in the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, which was linked to chemical weapons activities.

9- Muhammad Dib Zeitoun and the suppression of protesters

Major General Mohammed Dib Zeitoun’s role in suppressing freedoms in Syria dates back to before the 2011 protests, as he was one of those responsible for investigating members of the “Damascus Declaration” group in 2005. This declaration was signed by Syrian figures at the time, and called for an end to decades of dictatorial rule by the Assad family.

As protests began in Syria, Zeitoun continued his mission to suppress the protests. In 2012, he was appointed director of the State Security Directorate, and before that he headed the Political Security Directorate, the body that led the mission of suppressing the protests in Daraa.

Zeitoun was a very close figure to General Ali Mamlouk, and was included in the US, Canadian, European and British sanctions list.

10- Brigadier General Talal Makhlouf and the killing of demonstrators

Brigadier General Talal Makhlouf took over the leadership of the Republican Guard. Being from the Makhlouf family, to which Bashar al-Assad’s mother Anisa belongs, he took advantage of this advantage and obtained rapid and multiple promotions within the former regime’s army.

Makhlouf was among the most prominent officers who took charge of suppressing the protests in Syria. The 105th Republican Guard Brigade played a major role in attacking demonstrators in areas of Eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside.

In a previous report by Human Rights Watch, the organization quoted testimonies from former soldiers in the Republican Guard who said that Makhlouf gave direct orders to his elements to shoot directly at the demonstrators if they refused to stop demonstrating.

Makhlouf was placed on a US sanctions list in 2017, imposed by Washington on regime officials for their role in the use of chemical weapons. He was also placed on a British sanctions list in 2015.

These names are all part of a long list of former Assad regime officials who face charges of displacing and killing civilians, and who also played a major role in consolidating the regime throughout the years of the Syrian revolution and before.

Source: Arabi Post