Senior Figures and Officers of Syria’s Former Regime, Including Ali Mamlouk, Reside in Lebanon

ARK News.. Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Junpolat has reopened the issue of the presence of senior officials and officers from Bashar al-Assad’s former regime in Lebanon, revealing that several of them are residing in the country under what he described as “semi-official protection.” He specifically named Ali Mamlouk and Bassam al-Hassan, warning of the repercussions of their presence on Lebanese and Syrian security.

According to Syria TV, information indicates that the issue extends beyond the names mentioned by Janpolat, with networks linked to the former Syrian regime in Lebanon reportedly taking three parallel forms: senior officers living under protection, dozens of former military and security personnel who have regularized their legal status, and financiers and businessmen active in Beirut, including in the real-estate market.

The report said Lieutenant General Ali Mamlouk was among the most prominent figures to benefit from protection networks in Lebanon. Mamlouk reportedly moved at various stages between Beirut and areas of northern Bekaa before residing during the latest war in Burj Hammoud, north of Beirut, under direct protection from Hezbollah, with measures aimed at restricting his movements and public appearances.

Mamlouk does not appear to be an isolated case. According to the report, dozens of former regime officers and military personnel have obtained legal residency in Lebanon in recent years after their cases were handled on the basis that they were political refugees or that returning to Syria could put them at risk.

Sources cited by the report said that not all of these individuals are living in hiding. Some reportedly attend family and social gatherings involving friends and acquaintances, while a limited number, particularly more sensitive figures, move under security protection or escort.

Among those reportedly present in Lebanon is Major General Qahtan Ali Khalil, whom Bashar al-Assad appointed as head of the former regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate.

The issue also extends beyond military and security figures to financiers and businessmen who were close to the Assad regime’s economic circle.

One prominent name in this context is Khidr Ali Taher, known as “Abu Ali Khidr,” who during the final years of Assad’s rule was one of the prominent businessmen linked to the regime’s economic and security networks, particularly those surrounding former first lady Asma al-Assad.





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