Rafiq Shahadah (, born 1956) is a retired

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

major general. He was head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and the chief of staff of the Syrian Army's operations in Eastern Syria.

Early life

Shahadah was born in

Jableh Jableh (; ', also spelt ''Jebleh'', ''Jabala'', ''Jablah, Gabala'' or ''Gibellum'') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Syria, north of Baniyas and south of Latakia, with c. 80,000 inhabitants (2004 census). As Ancient ''Gabala'', it was a By ...

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah''), also transliterated as Ladhakia, is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay Province to the no ...

, in 1956.

Career

Major General Rafiq Shahadah was the most prominent bodyguard of President

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

, up until his death in 2000. He also served in the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

, and later headed the Political Security Division in Damascus. He then moved to lead the Military Intelligence Directorate, taking over one of its most powerful branches, Officers Affairs Branch 293. Those close to him talk about his extreme toughness. In 2011, Shahadah was an adviser to President

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 ...

on strategic questions and military intelligence. After start of the Early insurgency phase of the initial phase of Syrian war, Shahadah was serving as a security official in

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

. During his tenure

Marie Colvin Marie Catherine Colvin (January 12, 1956 – February 22, 2012) was an American journalist who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' from 1985 until her death. She was one of the most prominent ...

, a war correspondent, was killed in an attack in February 2012 which was confirmed by Shahadah who stated "Marie Colvin was a dog and now she’s dead. Let the Americans help her now." Shahadah was appointed chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate in July 2012, replacing Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, who then became the deputy director of the National Security Bureau. In 2015, Shahadah was dismissed from his role as director of Military Intelligence Directorate, following a dispute with Lt. General

Rustum Ghazaleh Rustum Ghazaleh () also transl. from Arabic language, Arabic as Rostom Ghazale, Rustom Ghazalah, Rustom Ghazali; (3 May 1953 – 24 April 2015) was a Syria, Syrian military and intelligence officer. Early life Ghazaleh was born into a Sunni Isla ...

. After him, Mohamed Mahala was appointed to the post. Until 1 January 2018, Shahadah was head of the Military Security Committee in Deir Ezzor. In July 2020, Shahadah was named as the head of the military office at the Syrian Presidency.

Sanctions

On 24 August 2011, 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 ...

sanctioned Shahada and stated that he was the head of military intelligence's branch 293 which is charged with internal affairs in

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 ...

. The EU accused him of being "directly involved in repression and violence against the civilian population." The same day, the Treasury of the United Kingdom also froze his assets. The Swiss government sanctioned him the following month based on the reasons given by the EU. Canada banned him from the country in October 2011.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahadah, Rafiq 1956 births Directors of intelligence agencies Living people People of the Syrian civil war Syrian Alawites Syrian generals People from Jableh Syrian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Syrian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions