Lebanon hands over former Assad general to Syria for trial

Lebanon has extradited a former Syrian military general to Syria, where he will stand trial for alleged crimes committed during the country's civil war. The handover, confirmed by Syria's Interior Ministry on Wednesday, marks the first time Lebanon has turned over a military officer since the fall of President Bashar Assad in late 2024.

Maj. Gen. Adel Issa, who commanded the Syrian army's 17th Division and ground forces in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour until 2016, was transferred after Lebanese judicial authorities questioned him on Tuesday. Syria had requested his extradition over charges including intentional killing of more than two people, torture resulting in death, and acts of aggression aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian strife.

Issa had fled to Lebanon illegally after Assad's ouster. He was detained on August 8 when he visited the Syrian Embassy in Beirut for paperwork, and embassy officials alerted Lebanon's prosecutor's office that he was wanted in Syria. Beirut officials said the transfer was carried out under a 1951 agreement between the two countries for delivering suspected criminals to face justice.

Since Assad's fall, dozens of former members of his security agencies accused of atrocities have been arrested and put on trial in Syria. Last week, a Syrian court sentenced Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia, while their cousin, Brig. Gen. Atef Najib, became the most senior security official to be sentenced to death while in custody. The Assad brothers fled to Russia.

Syria's conflict, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011 and escalated into civil war, left 500,000 people dead and over 1 million wounded.