Khaberni - A Lebanese military source revealed today, Wednesday, the detention of officers from the former Syrian regime, but "without the investigations showing that they were preparing for movements," while "Reuters" quoted from Syrian and Lebanese sources that the Syrian authorities requested the Lebanese security forces to hand over more than 200 senior officers who fled to Lebanon after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The Lebanese source said, "There are officers from the former Syrian regime in Lebanon, but there is no organization or operations room" confirming that there are no security preparations threatening the Syrian state starting from Lebanese territory, according to Al Jazeera.
The source added that since the beginning of the year, the army has arrested 160 individuals belonging to the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations, as well as seized drugs worth two billion dollars and destroyed 22 labs for their production.
Security Meeting
In the same context, Reuters reported on December 18 from three high-level Syrian sources, two Lebanese security officials, and a diplomat about a meeting by the Syrian security official, Brigadier General Abdul Rahman Al-Dabbagh, with Lebanese security leaders in Beirut to discuss the situation of these officers.
Al-Dabbagh, who is the assistant to the head of internal security in Latakia province, met with the director of Lebanese intelligence Tony Kahwaji and the director-general of public security, Major General Hassan Shaqir, and presented them with a list of the names of senior officers wanted by Syria.
According to Syrian sources, the visit focused on gathering information about the whereabouts of the officers and their legal status, as well as finding ways to prosecute or extradite them to Syria.
The sources described the visit as a direct request from one security agency to another, not a deportation request.
Three high-ranking Lebanese security officials confirmed the meetings, and one of them denied receiving any demands from the Syrians to hand over the officers, while the other two acknowledged receiving a list of names but denied the presence of any senior officers among them.
One of the Lebanese security officials stated that there is no evidence of planning any uprising, despite the threats targeting the new Syrian government.
All officials spoke on the condition of anonymity, allowing them to discuss the highly sensitive details of the matter.
According to a Syrian source who reviewed the list, it included names of prominent figures among them intermediaries for the billionaire Rami Makhlouf—a cousin of the deposed president—or Major General Kamal Hassan, the former head of the military intelligence branch in Lebanon.
A Lebanese judicial official clarified that Syria did not submit a formal request to Lebanon for their extradition, a process usually carried out through the ministries of justice and foreign affairs in both countries.
During his visit to Beirut, Al-Dabbagh was accompanied by Khalid Al-Ahmad—the former adviser to Assad and a childhood friend of the Sharah—according to two witnesses who saw the men together on the same day in December.
In response to inquiries, the Lebanese General Security referred Reuters to statements by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on January 11, in which he said that the army, the intelligence directorate, and other security services had conducted raids in several regions in the north and east of the country.
Aoun explained that the raids did not yield any evidence of officers linked to the Assad regime, adding that Lebanon continues to coordinate with Syria in this matter.
Syrian government officials did not respond to requests for comment.
