Lebanon detains Assad-era Syrian officer wanted by Damascus

Lebanese authorities detained Adel Issa, a former Syrian army officer under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, after Damascus issued an arrest warrant accusing him of killing and crimes against humanity, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP.

The official said Issa, 67, had gone to the Syrian embassy in Beirut on Friday for paperwork. Embassy staff learned of an arrest warrant filed in absentia and called on Lebanese authorities to detain him, the official said.

Issa remains in Lebanese custody. Lebanon's public prosecutor has asked his Syrian counterpart to send the extradition file before Beirut decides whether to hand him over.

The warrant accuses Issa of crimes committed during his time with the Syrian army, according to the judicial official. Syrian authorities have arrested dozens of people they say committed crimes during the country's 13-year civil war since Assad's fall in December 2024.