
A few weeks ago I came across an issue of Emarat Al Yaum (UAE daily) that covered an amazing research highlighting Bashar Al Assad’s network of influencers and key figures in Syria.
We all (Syrians) know most of them, but never before have I seen all those names put together like that. This is exactly what I was talking about in my last post. It’s a gang. a big gang.
For those who don’t read Arabic, here are the names and their roles in English per specialty. Please feel free to comment if I mistranslated a role or a government entity.
(PS: only those in blue are NOT related to Bashar. Everyone else is)
- General
- Maher Al Assad: Bashar’s brother, heading the elite forces (fourth squad)
- Mohamad Khair Bek: Vice president, responsible for national security
- Zulhimma Shalish: Head of staff // Presidential guards
- Rami Makhlouf: Richest man in Syria, owns 60% of the Syrian economy, Bashar’s cousin
- Hafiz Makhlouf: Head of security forces – Damascus
- Asif Shawkat: Bashar’s brother in law, Deputy Minister of Defense
- Military:
- Nabhan Al Assad: Personal security for Bashar
- Adnan Makhlouf: Former head of presidential guards
- Abd Al Fattah Qudsiya: Head of military intelligence
- Adnan Al Assad: Major General – Syrian Army
- Zuheir Al Assad: Head of military Unit 90, Damascus
- Hayel Al Assad: Heading the Military Police, and heading the Prison that Maher Al Assad uses with his Fourth Armored Division (fourth squad)
- Munaf Tlas: Bashar’s friend, and a senior guard
- Business
- Numair Makhlouf: Oil and Gas shipping
- Kamal Makhlouf: Water treatment
- Hussein Makhlouf: Water treatment
- Mohamad Makhlouf: Oil and Gas “Emperor”
- Iyad Makhlouf: Vice President of Syriatel (Telecom)
- Riyad Shalish: Military construction
- Alaa Ibrahim: General Manager – Shipping
- Kamal Al Assad – Head of Chamber of Commerce
- Drugs/trafficking
- Mohamad Al Assad AKA Shaikh Al Jabal: Cars theft across Lebanon, drugs and arms trafficking across Turkey
- Ayman Jabir: Business partner for Rami Makhlouf specialized in smuggling metal, iron, tobacco and drugs
- Firas Shalish: Invests in Cyprus
- Asif Shalish: Arms and weapons
- Ayham Al Assad: Rami Makhlouf’s right hand in USA
- Ghassan Mhanna: Mohamad Makhlouf’s right hand in Oil and Gas
- Hilal Al Assad: Military construction
- Intelligence
- Atif Najib: Bashar’s cousin, senior official with security forces in Daraa
- Ali King: Senior agent
- Ammar Najib: Senior agent
- Iyad Makhlouf: Senior agent
- Zuheir Hamad: Associate head – security forces
- Ali Mamlouk: Head of public intelligence unit
- Mohamad Dib Zeitoun: Head of military intelligence
- Jamil Hassan: Head of Air force intelligence
- Militia
- Manal Jadaan: Maher Al Assad’s wife, got her own gang
- Munther Al Assad: Head of “Shabiha”
- Karam Al Assad: Active senior official who ordered an attack on people during prayer time
- Fawaz Al Assad: Drugs and weapons on the cost of syria, Latakia. also heading the security forces over there
A proper mafia…
I remember an Arab poet once said, when you enter a battlefield aim for the big head. If it falls, it scares away everybody else.
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Dear readers, thank you for your messages. I stopped blogging a year ago simply because I ran out of things to say. I just realized that nothing really changed since my last post. however, I’m going to try to write more. That’s the least I can do, I guess.






