Allegiance Syria Service/branch Syrian Army Name Issam Zahreddine | Rank Major General Unit Republican Guard | |
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Nickname(s) Lion of the Republican Guard(Arabic: أسد الحرس الجمهوري) Commands held 104th BrigadeCommander of SAA troops in Aleppo (July–October 2013)Commander of Republican Guards in Deir ez-Zor (October 2013 – present) Battles/wars Syrian civil warRif Dimashq November offensive2013 Damascus offensiveRif Dimashq March offensiveBattle of AleppoDeir ez-Zor clashes (2011–14)Deir ez-Zor offensive (December 2014)Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015) Battles and wars Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013) Years of service 1980–2017 Died 18 October 2017 (aged 56) Hawijat Saqr, Deir ez-Zor, Syria Born 9 September 1961 Tarba, As-Suwayda, Syria Nationality Syrian Similar Issa al Khouli, Ali Mamlouk, Jameh Jameh | ||
Issam Zahreddine (Arabic: عصام زهر الدين), sometimes also transliterated as Issam Jad'aan Zahreddine (Arabic: عِصَام جَدْعَان زَهْر الدِّين, romanized: ʿIṣām Jadʿān Zahr ad-Dīn, 9 September 1961 – 18 October 2017), also transliterated as Issam Zaher Eldin or Issam Zaher al-Deen, was a major general of the Syrian Republican Guard who played a major role in the Syrian Civil War, leading Syrian government forces on several fronts.[9] His most prominent role was the leadership of the surrounded Syrian forces during the over three-year long Siege of Deir ez-Zor. On 18 October 2017, Zahreddine was killed by a land mine explosion during operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Saqr island in Deir ez-Zor
Contents
- Brigadier general issam zahreddine meeting with syrian grand mufti ahmad badreddin hassoun
- Background
- Role in Syrian civil war
- Personal life
- Death
- References
Brigadier general issam zahreddine meeting with syrian grand mufti ahmad badreddin hassoun
Background
Zahreddine was from Tarba in the As-Suwayda Governorate. He was a member of the Druze religious community. He was commissioned as an officer in the Airborne (Special Forces) Armoured units in 1982. Before that he served in the Baath Party's People's Militia (Popular Militia) as a conscript from 1980 to 1982. In 1987, he was inducted into the Republican Guard as an Armoured and Mechanized Units' officer.
Role in Syrian civil war
Zahreddine commanded the Republican Guard's 104th Brigade in Douma and Harasta alongside Brigadier General Manaf Tlass before the latter's defection. This brigade was led by Bashar Assad before he became President, and by Basil Assad until his death in 1994. In his position as leader of the 104th Brigade, Zahreddine ordered the systematic beating of arrested protestors in Douma during the civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War; for these actions, he became known as the "Druze Beast" among the Syrian opposition.
As the Syrian Civil War escalated, Zahreddine became one of the most prominent and high-ranking members of the Druze community in Syria fighting for the government. As result, he has been widely criticized by pro-opposition and anti-war Druze: The leader of the Lebanese Druze, Walid Jumblatt, accused him of "fighting against his own people", and Zahreddine was also singled out by a group of Druze religious leaders meeting in As-Suwayda in February 2013 as an individual deserving of death, in a statement otherwise decrying the use of violence by both sides. Among those Druze in Syria who are loyal to the Assad government, however, he is regarded as "hero" and has many followers.
Sometime after 2013, he was promoted from Brigadier General to Major General.
Following the start of the Aleppo offensive (October 2013), Zahreddine was originally going to lead an assault to Anadan. However, he was requested for assistance in Deir ez-Zor due to Major General Jameh's death. While there, he became known for frequently visiting the front line and interacting with ordinary soldiers. On November 27, 2013, while commanding his forces in al-Rashdiya district, Zahreddine was wounded in the leg by a bullet. Zahreddine and his son Yarob travelled to as-Suwayda in September 2015 in order to attend the funeral of Sheikh Wahid al-Balous, a Druze leader who had been a prominent anti-war activist.
On September 5, 2017, Zahreddine was congratulated by President Bashar Assad for his role at Deir ez-Zor during the over 3-year long siege of the city by ISIS. He used the occasion to thank allies for lifting the siege and tell Syrian refugees to "never return", saying that "even if the state forgives you, we will never forgive nor forget". In a subsequent audio message, however, Zahreddine claimed that he had meant that only those who had taken up arms against the Syrian Army should not return.
Personal life
Issam's oldest son, Yarob, also fights with the 104th Brigade in Deir ez-Zor.
Death
On 18 October 2017, Zahreddine was killed when his vehicle hit a land mine in Hawija Saqr near Deir Ezzor as he was conducting an operation against ISIL. His funeral took place in As-Suwayda on 20 October 2017.