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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/world/middleeast/assad-henchmen-retake-syria-plots.html
Ousted Generals Plot Insurgency in Syria
(New York Times) Erika Solomon - Some of Bashar al-Assad's top spymasters and generals are plotting to undermine the fledgling government that ousted them, a year after fleeing as the Assad regime collapsed. Some former regime leaders are attempting to build an armed insurgency from exile. Several hope to carve off Syria's coast, home to the minority Alawite sect to which Assad and many of his top military and intelligence officials belong. Two main figures involved in these efforts are Suhail Hassan, Assad's former special forces commander, and Kamal Hassan, a former military spy chief. Both men face international sanctions on accusations of war crimes. They have distributed funds and recruited fighters. Suhail Hassan's network has procured weapons, and he has met with collaborators in Lebanon, Iraq and even Syria over the past year. Two former Assad officials told the Times they were well positioned to recruit from an Alawite community that is not only frightened, but also full of former soldiers.