Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun (, born 1957) is a former military commander, and served as Syrian

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

prior to the fall of the Assad regime.

Career and education

He joined the military, where he graduated from the

War College A war college is a senior military academy which is normally intended for veteran military officers and whose purpose is to educate and 'train on' senior military tacticians, strategists, and leaders. It is also often the place where advanced tac ...

with the rank of major in air defense and was assigned to the

Air Force Intelligence Directorate The Air Force Intelligence Directorate () was an intelligence service of Ba'athist Syria from 1970 until 2024, owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role as the Air Force commander. Despite its name, it was mainly involved with issues other t ...

. In 2004, he assumed office of director at the Air Force Intelligence Department in

Daraa Daraa (, Levantine Arabic: ) is a city in southwestern Syria, north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate in the Hauran region. Located south of Damascus on the Damascus–Amman highway, it serves as a way sta ...

, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, then he rose through the military ranks and security positions until he assumed the position as director of the Air Force Intelligence Branch in the southern region located in the city of

Harasta Harasta (, ), also known as ''Harasta al-Basal'' or ''Hirista'', is a town and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria. Harasta has an altitude of 702 meters. It has a population of 34,184 , making it the 43rd largest city per geograp ...

in 2011. During the Syrian Civil War, he was held responsible for numerous human rights violations in Daraa governorate, including arbitrary arrests, torture, forced disappearances, and indiscriminate shelling of towns, causing thousands of civilians to be displaced. In mid-2015, by decree of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

, al-Rahmoun was appointed as head of the

Political Security Directorate The Political Security Directorate (PSD, ) was an intelligence service of Ba'athist Syria. It was divided into an Internal Security Department and an External Security Department. Intelligence division was affiliated to the Ministry of Interior. ...

of the Syrian Interior Ministry. On 26 November 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed Minister of Interior in Imad Khamis government, succeeding Major General

Mohammad al-Shaar Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar (; born 1950) is a Syrian military officer who served as Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2018. He also served as the vice president of the National Progressive Front. Early life Shaar was born into a Sunni famil ...

. On 7 December 2024, during the Syrian opposition offensives approaching

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, al-Rahmoun downplayed the threat to the capital by stating that "there is a very strong security and military cordon on the far outskirts of Damascus and its countryside, and no one (...) can penetrate this line of defense that we, the armed forces, are erecting." The next day, Damascus fell to the rebel forces, and many members of the ruling junta fled the city. Al-Rahmoun's current whereabouts are unknown.

Sanctions

Owing to his involvement in the Syrian Civil War, al-Rahmoun has been subjected to sanctions by multiple countries. In 2017, he was added to the sanctions list of the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

. In 2019, he was sanctioned by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, owing to his participation in the

Syrian chemical weapons program Syria's chemical weapons program began in the 1970s with weapons and training from Egypt and the Soviet Union, with production of chemical weapons in Syria beginning in the mid-1980s. For some time, Syria was believed to have the world's third-lar ...

and complicity in the Ghouta massacre. In 2019, he was the subject of travel bans issued by the governments of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, European Union countries,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahmoun, Mohammad Khaled 1957 births Living people Ministers of interior of Syria People of the Syrian civil war People from Idlib Governorate Syrian generals Syrian Sunni Muslims Syrian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Syrian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Syrian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region politicians

Career and education

Sanctions

See also

References