Rafiq Shahadah ( ar, رفيق شحادة, born 1956) is a
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
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* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
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, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six-D ...
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
. 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
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, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = General view of city and port • Roman Amphitheater• Al ...
,
Latakia Governorate, in 1956.
Career
Shahadah was an adviser to President
Bashar Al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
on strategic questions and military intelligence. At the initial phase of Syrian war Shahadah was serving as a security official in
Homs
ar, حمصي, Himsi
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.
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 died while covering the siege ...
, 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.
]
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 located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
sanctioned Shahada and stated that he was the head of military intelligence's branch 293 which is charged with internal affairs in Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
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, ...
. 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
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and eco ...
also froze his assets. The Swiss government sanctioned him the following month based on the reasons given by the EU.
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