On 23 December 2025, former Syrian officer Ghassan al-Naassan al-Sukhni was murdered in the Keserwan area, north of Beirut, near the house where he was living. Just a few days earlier, on 19 December, the Deputy Head of Syrian Intelligence, Abd al-Rahman Dabaagh, was seen touring central Beirut, visiting several cafes and restaurants, as part of an effort to check the possible presence of individuals associated with the Assad regime in the area. This followed Syria’s request for the extradition of Assad-era officers accused of war crimes.
Al-Naassan was considered one of the prominent field commanders of the Assad regime. He commanded the elite “Fouj al-Tarmakh” unit within Suheil al-Hassan’s “Tiger Forces” (later the 25th Special Mission Division) and took part in intense fighting in Deir ez-Zor, Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta, and southern Idlib—most notably in the battle for the town of Hobeit in 2019, where his unit was described as the spearhead of Assad’s military offensives.
Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, al-Naassan fled to Lebanon, settled in the Tabarja area near Beirut, and joined several former officers who chose exile in Lebanon.
According to the Lebanese Army, the suspect in the murder was arrested and the motive was defined as a financial dispute. However, the convergence of circumstances raises questions about the possibility of covert Syrian activity in Lebanon. Was al-Naassan’s killing the result of a local dispute, or part of a systematic Syrian effort to locate and settle scores with key figures of the former Assad regime on Lebanese soil?
One Response
Dear Dana,
Perhaps it is beneficial to have murderers killing murderers. Let the venomous snakes eliminate each other and preserve innocent lives. May Hashem turn them to war among themselves so that the darkness of lies and jihaddist death threats is removed from the earth.