Reuters reported that the Syrian government has asked Lebanese security forces to hand over more than 200 senior officers who fled to Lebanon after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
In a report published on Wednesday, January 14, Reuters said that Brigadier General Abdul Rahman al-Dabbagh, a Syrian security official, paid a visit to Beirut on December 18, 2025, during which he met with his Lebanese counterparts to discuss the handover of officers who fled after Assad’s fall. The agency cited three senior Syrian sources, Lebanese security officials, and a diplomat familiar with the visit.
According to Reuters, al-Dabbagh, who serves as assistant head of Internal Security in Syria’s Latakia governorate (northwestern Syria), met with Lebanese Intelligence chief Tony Kahwaji and Major General Hassan Choucair, head of the General Security Directorate. He reportedly presented them with a list of senior officers wanted by Damascus.
The meetings came, Reuters noted, days after an investigation by the agency revealed competing plots allegedly pursued by Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad, and Major General Kamel Hassan, the former head of Military Intelligence.
Reuters pointed out that both Makhlouf and Hassan, who reside in Moscow, are competing to finance potential Alawite armed groups in Lebanon and along Syria’s coastal region.
According to the agency, the two rival camps are seeking to undermine Syria’s new government, led during the transitional phase by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Reuters added that they are sending money to intermediaries in Lebanon in an attempt to stir uprisings that could divide Syria and enable the conspirators to regain control over coastal areas.
Lebanon: No confirmation of rumors
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said, in an interview with Télé Liban on January 11, marking one year since his inauguration, that the Lebanese army, the Intelligence Directorate, and security agencies had carried out raids in several areas, including Hermel (eastern Lebanon) and the north of the country, without finding evidence confirming circulating rumors about the presence of former Syrian regime officers in Lebanon.
President Aoun affirmed the continuation of coordination with the Syrian state in this regard and expressed Lebanon’s rejection of being used as a platform to threaten the stability of any other country.
He stressed that national decisions are made in Lebanon and not abroad, pointing to ongoing judicial, security, and military coordination between Lebanon and Syria, as well as reciprocal visits by delegations to discuss other files.
Earlier, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri voiced concern over reports circulating in the media and among the public about movements by supporters of the former Syrian regime inside Lebanese territory. He called on security agencies to verify the accuracy of this information and take the necessary measures.
In a statement posted on his X account on January 2, Mitri said that it is the duty of Lebanese security agencies to deal seriously with such information. He warned of the risks of any actions that could harm Syria’s unity or threaten its security and stability, whether carried out inside Lebanon or launched from its territory.
He emphasized the need to avert these risks by strengthening cooperation with Syrian authorities, based on “mutual trust, respect for the sovereignty of both countries, and shared interests.”
Mitri’s remarks came after Qatar’s Al Jazeera revealed, citing documents and recordings it described as exclusive, movements by remnants of the former Syrian regime in Lebanese border areas, particularly in the village of al-Hayseh in the Akkar Plain (northern Lebanon).
According to the channel, around 20 former pilots from regime forces are currently residing in Lebanon with their families, after previously being transferred through Iranian channels before being abandoned. The pilots are reportedly seeking to join groups being organized in preparation for potential military moves.
One document cited by Al Jazeera indicates that these pilots are staying in a hotel and demanding to be incorporated into forces under formation. Other documents revealed that former “Elite Forces” commander Major General Suheil al-Hassan had prepared a “large” office in the al-Hayseh area near the Syrian border to serve as a headquarters for managing planned military operations against Syria, as part of efforts to reorganize ranks and target the new Syrian government.
The leaks also mentioned a figure identified as Mahmoud al-Salman, described as a leader among remnants of the former regime. He reportedly holds Lebanese citizenship, is based in the Dahr Bashir area (northern Lebanon), previously took part in fighting inside Syria, and is being prepared for a role in what was described as a new armed movement.
In recent weeks, the Lebanese army announced that it had carried out security raids in several areas, arresting a number of Syrians and Lebanese nationals, without specifying whether the operations were related to remnants of the former Syrian regime.
Lebanese media reported that on January 6 the army raided a camp in the Hermel area that Hezbollah had built to shelter remnants of the Syrian regime.
Al Jadeed TV said that the Lebanese army carried out raids on the “Imam Ali Camp” in Hermel, which houses “Syrian refugees.” Meanwhile, the Janoubia website confirmed that the camp is located at the eastern entrance to Hermel near the government hospital and was officially inaugurated on December 14, 2024, by Hezbollah.
According to the website, the complex includes around 228 housing units and is home to more than 200 families, most of them Syrian Alawites displaced from areas such as Homs and the Syrian coast over the past year.
The site noted that Hezbollah says the residents are families of those killed who were displaced after the Syrian coastal events in March 2025.
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