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General Intelligence Directorate (Syria)

Coordinates: 33°31′13″N 36°18′42″E / 33.52028°N 36.31167°E / 33.52028; 36.31167
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General Intelligence Directorate
إِدَارَةُ الْمُخَابَرَاتِ الْعَامَّةِ
ʾIdārat al-Mukhābarāt al-ʿAmmāh
Agency overview
Formed1945; 79 years ago (1945)
(final form in 1971)
Preceding agency
  • Internal Security Forces Command (ISFC)
DissolvedDecember 2024; 0 months ago (2024-12)
JurisdictionGovernment of Syria
HeadquartersKafr Sousa, Damascus, Syria
33°31′13″N 36°18′42″E / 33.52028°N 36.31167°E / 33.52028; 36.31167
Agency executives
Parent agencyMinistry of Interior

The General Intelligence Directorate (Arabic: إِدَارَةُ الْمُخَابَرَاتِ الْعَامَّةِ, romanized: ʾIdārat al-Mukhābarāt al-ʿAmmāh), also known as the General Security Directorate or Syrian GID, was the most important civil intelligence service of former Ba'athist Syria and played an important role of suppressing the people of Syria for the governments interests.[2][3] The General Intelligence Directorate conducted an oppressive surveillance of the Syrian population, directed foreign intelligence and monitored activities in Lebanon on behalf of Hezbollah until its dissolution in December 2024.

History

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1945–1958

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As a consequence of the French Mandate of Syria that created the modern First Syrian Republic and its structures, the country's civil intelligence services owe much to the French template which shaped their early development since 1945.[4] Civilian intelligence service called Department of General Security (Sûreté Générale) was established, and became one of the two security agencies of Syria, the other being Deuxième Bureau.[4] After 1949 Syrian coup d'état, the Sûreté Générale became no more than an executive arm of the Deuxième Bureau.[4] With the tenure of Abd al-Hamid Sarraj as director of the Deuxième Bureau, which lasted from 1954 to 1958, exemplified these trends. His officers became increasingly active in both Lebanon and northern Israel.[5]

1958–1963

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In February 1958, the Syrian government merged with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic (UAR).[5] The union lasted until September 1961. During that union, Syrian intelligence services came under the overall authority of the Egyptian Directorate of General Intelligence with Salah Nasr as director.[6] After its secession from the UAR in 1961, the new Syrian government under President Nazim al-Qudsi reformed security sector. The Deuxième Bureau and a reformed civilian intelligence, renamed as the Internal Security Forces Command (ISFC), started their activities in Lebanon. On 15 December 1961, Col. Muhammad Hisham al-Samman was appointed as Commander of Internal Security Forces, assisted by a Committee under his presidency.[7] Along with the Kuzbari government, he pledged to establish political liberties and to disestablish emergency laws, which never came into existence. With the 1963 Syrian coup d'état, the security services adapted to the new political system of the Ba'ath Party. It was intensively trained by the Egyptian State Security on its domestic affairs such as political repression, mass surveillance, coercive interrogation techniques among others.

1963–1971

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The renewed service was used in April 1964 to crackdown uprisings in Hama led by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and backed by Egypt.[8] On 24 March 1965, Decree No. 67 put the ISFC into a military framework with link to the Interior Ministry, thus ending the civilian control.[9] After the February 1966 coup within the Ba'th Party, Salah Jadid emerged as the leader of Syria's most radical regime to date.[10] Jadid centralized control of all intelligence and security services under Col. Abd al-Karim al-Jundi, the head of the National Security Bureau of the Ba'ath Party.[11]

From 1966 to 1969, Jundi further expanded the role and power of the Syrian agencies, both at home and abroad. It was during this period that their reputation for brutal ruthlessness was firmly established. Also in this period, the ISFC was organized and extensively trained by the GDR's Stasi.[12] The use of Palestinian guerrillas against Israel was core of its foreign intelligence.[4]

1971–2024

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In November 1970, Hafez al-Assad ousted Jadid in what he labelled a Corrective Movement. The new system has proved to be Syria's most stable and durable since independence and has toned down the previous radicalism. Under Assad there has been a remarkable continuity among the senior personnel in the intelligence community.[4] The General Security Directorate was established in 1971. By 1972, the new GSD was significantly modelled on the GDR's Stasi.[13] Under the government of Hafez al-Assad and Ba'ath Party, especially from 1973, agents of Syria’s GSD were a frequent visitors in East Berlin for training. According to Stasi files, the Syrians also received equipment and materials from the GDR, the last such deliveries documented up until 1990.[14]

The service was in competition with Political Security Directorate in the late 20th century.[15] Maj. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan possibly headed international security of the General Security Directorate in the late 20th century.[16] In the late 20th century, between 1998 and 2001, Maj. Gen Ali Houri was director of General Security Directorate.[16]

After Bashar al-Assad's takeover in 2000, Maj. Gen. Ali Hammoud was named as head of GID. In 2001, Hisham Ikhtiyar became the head of the General Security Directorate, replacing Ali Hammoud, who became the Minister of Interior.[17] General Ikhtiyar was close to Bashar al-Assad's deceased brother-in-law Assef Shawkat.[15] President Bashar Assad in June 2005 appointed General Ali Mamlouk as commander of the General Security Directorate.[18]

Six years later in April 2011, the US government imposed sanctions on Ali Mamlouk, saying he had been responsible for human rights abuses, including the use of violence against civilians. Agency had repressed internal dissent, monitored individual citizens, and had been involved in the Syrian government's actions in Daraa, where protesters were killed by Syrian security services. The next month, the EU also imposed sanctions on Ali Mamlouk, saying he had been involved in efforts to suppress anti-government protesters. A Sunni, he is said to be on good terms with all of Syria's intelligence agencies – the heads of Air Force Intelligence and the Political Security Directorate were once his assistants. He is a part of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle.[2]

After the 18 July 2012 bombing of the Central Crisis Management Cell (Syria) and the death of its four key members of team, Mohammed Dib Zaitoun was named as head of the General Security Directorate.[19]

Organization

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The General Intelligence Directorate was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.[20] The GID was also controlled by the President Bashar al-Assad through the National Security Bureau of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Central Command.[21] It is divided into six branches:

Responsibility

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The Internal Security Division is responsible for the surveillance of the population, counterintelligence, counter-terrorism, security of Damascus as well as protection of the Government of Syria. The External Security Division is tasked with foreign intelligence work, espionage and national security protection.[16] And the Palestinian Affairs Division is responsible for monitoring the activities of Palestinian groups in Syria and Lebanon.[16]

Directors

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  • Bashir an-Najjar (1994–1998)[23]
  • Ali Houri (1998–2001)[16][17]
  • Zouheir Hamad (July 2010–July 2012), the European Union sanctioned him for "the use of violence across Syria and for intimidation and torture of protesters during the Syrian Civil War".[28][29]
  • Deputy Director: General Nazih (July 2010–July 2012), the European Union sanctioned him for "being responsible for the use of violence across Syria and intimidation and torture of protestors during the Syrian uprising".[2][29]
  • Information branch: Ghassan Khalil (July 2010–?), the European Union sanctioned him for "being involved in repression and violence against the civilian population in Syria during the Syrian uprising".[28][29][31]
  • Deputy Director: Zouheir Hamad (25 July 2012 – 7 July 2019)[2]
  • Internal branch (251): Tawfiq Younes (2011-2016),[33] the European Union sanctioned him for "being involved in violence against demonstrators during the Syrian uprisings".[29]

Regional Directors

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  • Damascus (branch 285): Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Ma'ala (2011-2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity" by Human Rights Watch.[35]
  • Damascus (branch 285): Brig. Gen. Hussam Fendi (past-2011) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[35]
  • Homs (branch 318): Brig. Gen. Firas Al-Hamed (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[35]
  • Latakia branch: Brig. Gen. Khudr Khudr (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[35]
  • Daraa branch: Brig. Gen. Ahmed Dibe (2011).[36]
  • Raqqa branch: Brig. Gen. Khaled Al-Halabi (2008-2013) accused of being involved with the arrest and torture of dissidents, as well as telling security forces to fire on any unauthorized gathering of more than four people.[37]

Other Syrian intelligence agencies

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Treasury Continues Targeting Facilitators of Assad Regime". 25 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Bashar al-Assad's inner circle". BBC News. 18 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b "[DESINFOS.COM] - le rapport Mehlis: La Syrie et de hauts responsables libanais officiellement impliqués dans l'assassinat de Rafic Hariri". Archived from the original on 2006-01-13. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rathmell, Andrew (Fall 1997). "Syria's Intelligence Services: Origins and Development". Journal of Conflict Studies. XVI (2). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  5. ^ a b Podeh, Elie (1999). The Decline of Arab Unity: The Rise and Fall of the United Arab Republic. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. p. 54. ISBN 1902210204. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  6. ^ Joseph W. Wippl (2019). "Book review". International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. 32 (2): 432. doi:10.1080/08850607.2019.1565879.
  7. ^ Oron, Yizthak (1961). Middle East Record Volume 2, 1961. Jerusalem: The Moshe Dayan Center. pp. 439. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. ^ Wright, Robin, Dreams and Shadows : the Future of the Middle East, Penguin Press, 2008, p.241. ISBN 1594201110.
  9. ^ "قوى الأمن الداخلي (sy)/نظام الشرطة". موسوعة القانون المشارك الجامعية (in Arabic). Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Salah Jadid, 63, Leader of Syria Deposed and Imprisoned by Assad (Published 1993)". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1993-08-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  11. ^ Kahana; Suwaed, 2009, p. 294.
  12. ^ Rafiq Hariri and the Fate of Lebanon (2009). Marwān Iskandar. P. 201.
  13. ^ Trentin, Massimiliano (November 2021). "State-led Development: The Privileged Linkage between East Germany and Ba'athist Syria, 1965–1972". Contemporary European History. 30 (4): 581–596. doi:10.1017/S0960777321000369. hdl:11585/852257. ISSN 0960-7773.
  14. ^ "Germany's ties to the Syrian regime".
  15. ^ a b "Syrie". Retrieved 2008-09-06. [dead link‍]
  16. ^ a b c d e f MEIB (July 2000). "Syria's Intelligence Services: A Primer". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. 2 (6). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  17. ^ a b c Gambil, Gary (Feb 2002). "The Military-Intelligence Shakeup in Syria". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. 4 (2). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  18. ^ a b c Rabil, Robert G. (2006). Syria, the United States, and the war on terror in the Middle East. Westport (Conn.): Praeger security international. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-275-99015-2.
  19. ^ Paul Khalifeh (17 July 2019). "Syria war: Why did Assad restructure the military-security apparatus?". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  20. ^ John Pike. "Syria Intelligence and Security Agencies". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  21. ^ Robert G. Rabil Syria, the United States, and the war on terror in the Middle East Archived 18 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 0-275-99015-X p.214
  22. ^ a b c Seale, Patrick (1990). Asad of Syria: the struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. p. 430. ISBN 0-520-06976-5. Fu'ad Absi syria.
  23. ^ a b c Zisser, Eyal (September 1995). "The Succession Struggle in Damascus". The Middle East Quarterly. 2 (3): 57–64. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  24. ^ Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy. 25 (5): 425. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. S2CID 154739379. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  25. ^ a b c "SyriaComment.com". Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  26. ^ Leverett, Flynt (2005). Inheriting Syria Bashar's trial by fire ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. p. 93. ISBN 0-8157-5204-0.
  27. ^ a b Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy. 25 (5): 424. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. S2CID 154739379. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  28. ^ a b c d "Syria's Assad 'reshuffles security chiefs'". UPI. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  29. ^ a b c d e f "Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011". EuroLex. 52011PC0887. 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  30. ^ "À la recherche d'Anwar Raslan, tortionnaire syrien". Les Jours (in French). 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  31. ^ a b c "Stratfor report on Syrian Security, Intelligence Leaders (Corrected)". Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  32. ^ Archived copy Archived 23 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "Tawfiq Younes". Pro Justice. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  34. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Syrian Regime Prisons, Officials, and Syrian Armed Group". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  35. ^ a b c d "Torture Archipelago". Human Rights Watch. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  36. ^ By all means Human Right Watch. Retrieved 8 December 2022
  37. ^ "How a Syrian War Criminal and Double Agent Disappeared in Europe". The New Yorker. 11 September 2021.
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