The Central Crisis Management Cell (CCMC) ( ar, خلية إدارة الأزمة السورية), also known as the ''Syrian Crisis Cell'', is a secret security committee established by the
Syrian government
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. S ...
in March 2011 to coordinate the response to civilian protest and internal dissent.
It was headed by Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, and its members included the heads of the
National Security Office,
Military Intelligence Directorate,
Air Force Intelligence Directorate,
Political Security Directorate
Political Security Directorate (PSD, ar, إدارة الأمن السياسي, ''Idarat al-Amn al-Siyasi'') is an intelligence service of the Syrian government. It is divided into an Internal Security Department and an External Security Departme ...
, and
General Intelligence Directorate, as well as the Ministers of Interior and Defense.
The CCMC met regularly in an office on the first floor of the Baath Party's Regional Command in central Damascus. It focused on identifying opposition figures and taking the necessary steps to crush dissent.
CCMC members agreed on a plan at the end of each meeting, and minutes were sent via courier to Bashar al-Assad at the presidential palace, who approved and signed proposals, then returned them to the CCMC for implementation.
Members
The CCMC is headed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and comprises the following members
*
Maher al-Assad
Maher al-Assad ( ar, مَاهِرُ ٱلْأَسَدِ, Māhir al-ʾAsad, born 8 December 1967) is a Syrian general and commander of the Republican Guard and the army's elite Fourth Armoured Division, which together with Syria's secret polic ...
, head of the Presidential Guard and the
Fourth Armored Division
* Minister of Defense
* Minister of Interior
* Head of National Security Office
* Head of Military Intelligence Directorate
* Head of Air Force Intelligence Directorate
* Head of Political Security Directorate
* Head of General Intelligence Directorate
Bombing attack
On 18 July 2012, a meeting of the CCMC at the National Security headquarters in Damascus was subject to a bombing attack
that led to the deaths of the Syrian Defense Minister
Dawoud Rajiha,
Deputy Defense Minister
Assef Shawkat
Assef Shawkat ( ar, آصِفُ شَوْكَتْ, ʾĀṣif Šawkat; 15 January 1950 – 18 July 2012) was the deputy Minister of Defense of Syria from September 2011 until his death in July 2012.
He was the brother-in-law of Syrian Preside ...
, and the assistant to the vice president General
Hasan Turkmani.
Meeting minute leaks
In 2012, Abdulhalim Barakat, a secret member of the Syrian government opposition employed by the CCMC to process confidential security memos, leaked detailed minutes from CCMC meetings to ''Al Jazeera''.
References
Syrian civil war
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