Issam Zahreddine

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Issam Zahreddine

Issam Zahreddine ( Arabic عصام جدعان زهر الدين, DMG ʿIṣām Dschadʿān Zahr ad-Dīn , occasionally also transcribed as Issam Zaher Eldin or Issam Jad'aan Zaher al-Deen , * 1961 in Tarba ; † October 18, 2017 in Deir ez-Zor ) was a brigadier general of the Syrian Republican Guards who led numerous military operations by the Syrian government in the civil war in Syria .

Life

Born in Tarba in the as-Suwaida governorate , Zahreddine was of the Druze faith. From 1980 to 1982 Zahreddine did his military service with the people's militias of the Baath Party . From 1982 he worked as an officer in an armored airborne unit. From 1987 he worked as an officer in armored and mechanized units of the Republican Guards.

Activity in the Syrian Civil War

Zahreddine led the 104th Brigade of the Republican Guards in Duma and Harasta with Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, who later deserted . Zahreddine's predecessors in this capacity include Bashar and Basil al-Assad .

Zahreddine was considered one of the most famous and highest-ranking members of the Druze ethnic group on the part of the Syrian government. This activity led to criticism from parts of the Druze community. The Lebanese politician and Druze functionary Walid Jumblat , who supports the terrorist al-Nusra Front , accused him of "fighting against his own people" because of his activities on the part of the government. For the same reasons, Zahreddine was also described by a congregation of Druze religious leaders in a broadcast that otherwise deplored the violence of all parties involved as an “individual who deserves death”.

In 2012, Zahreddine survived an assassination attempt in which Ali Chuzam was killed.

After the start of the Aleppo offensive in October 2013 , Zahreddine was supposed to lead an attack on Anadan . After the death of Major General Jameh Jameh, he was sent to Deir ez-Zor . There, under his command, an area surrounded by the Islamic State , which could only be supplied by sporadic helicopter landings and the dropping of goods from the air, was successfully defended for over 3 years. The siege by the Islamic State was broken in September 2017. On November 27, 2013, Zahreddine was shot in one leg in al-Rashdiya district. In May 2016, pictures surfaced on the Internet showing him next to violated corpses .

In September 2017, Zahreddine drew international attention when he described Syrians who had fled to Germany as traitors and advised them not to return to Syria. When this statement met with international criticism, Zahreddine apologized and stated that his words were addressed exclusively to members of the Islamic State; Compatriots who have fled are welcome. In October of the same year, the Lebanese news agency Al-Manar reported that he had been killed in a land mine in Deir ez-Zor.

Private life

Zahreddine's son Yaʿrub serves as a soldier in the 104th Brigade of the Republican Guards in Deir ez-Zor.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b By All Means Necessary! Human Rights Watch , December 2011, accessed July 21, 2012 .
  2. ^ A b Gary Gambill: Syrian Druze: Toward Defiant Neutrality . Middle East Forum, 2013; Retrieved July 9, 2013
  3. ^ Syrian security branches and Persons in charge . Syrian Network for Human Rights. April 9, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved on July 9, 2013.
  4. ^ Nour Malas: Defected Syrian General Heads to Paris as Diplomats Meet . In: The Wall Street Journal , July 6, 2012. 
  5. ↑ Hassan Illeik: Jumblatt: “I Am With al-Nusra Front Against Assad”. (No longer available online.) In: Alakhbar English . March 6, 2012, archived from the original on March 12, 2013 ; Retrieved July 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / english.al-akhbar.com
  6. ↑ Marlin Dick: Druze preachers in Swaida urge defections. In: The Daily Star. February 18, 2013, accessed July 6, 2012 .
  7. ↑ a b Maj. General 'Issam Zahreddeen Slightly Wounded Syrian Perspective. November 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ Hilary Clarke and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN: Syrian forces break ISIS 'siege of Deir Ezzor. In: CNN. Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Syria army commander poses next to dead bodies , Al Jazeera , May 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ Syrian War: Assad's top general threatens refugees , Der Spiegel , September 11, 2017.
  11. ^ Syrian general apologises after apparently warning refugees against return. In: Middle East Eye. Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
  12. ^ Décès du commandant des forces syriennes à Deir ez-Zor , Le Figaro , October 18, 2017.
  13. ↑ @ Lawrence1918x: Yarob Zahreddine and his comrades in Deir ez-Zor. , Twitter , September 16, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Zahreddine, Issam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zaher Eldin, Issam; Zaher al-Deen, Issam; عصام زهر الدين
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian Brigadier General
DATE OF BIRTH 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Tarba
DATE OF DEATH 18th October 2017
Place of death Deir ez-Zor