Lebanese authorities have detained a former senior Syrian military officer who commanded a division under ousted President Bashar Assad and are considering handing him over to Damascus for alleged crimes.
Maj. Gen. Adel Issa was taken into custody on Saturday after visiting the Syrian embassy in Beirut for paperwork on Friday. Embassy officials then alerted Lebanese authorities that Issa was wanted in Syria, according to Lebanese judicial and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Issa was transferred to the Beirut Palace of Justice detention center.
Issa, who once led Syria’s military 17th Division, told interrogators that he entered Lebanon illegally following Assad’s fall but denied all accusations. Lebanese judicial authorities are awaiting Issa's charge sheet from Syrian officials, expected on Monday, as Saturday and Sunday are weekend days in Syria. Lebanese authorities will review the case and determine whether to extradite Issa sometime next week.
If handed over, Issa would be the first Assad-era official transferred from Lebanon to Syria. Since Assad's government was overthrown in December 2024, numerous military and security officers accused of atrocities have been arrested and are facing trial in Syria.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that after commanding the 17th Division, Issa was assigned to lead ground forces in the eastern Deir el-Zour province, bordering Iraq, in 2015, and retired in late 2016.
The Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011, has resulted in an estimated half a million deaths and over a million wounded. Assad and his brother Maher reportedly fled to Russia after their ouster.