Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun (Arabic: محمد خالد الرحمون, born 1957) is a former military commander, and served as Syrian Minister of the Interior prior to the fall of the Assad regime.[3][4]
Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun | |
|---|---|
محمد خالد الرحمون | |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 26 November 2018 – 8 December 2024 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Prime Minister | Imad Khamis Hussein Arnous Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali |
| Preceded by | Mohammad al-Shaar |
| Succeeded by | Vacant until the 10 December 2024 Mohammad Abdul Rahman |
| Director of Political Security Directorate | |
| In office 2017 – 26 November 2018 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Nasser Ali |
| Succeeded by | Hossam Louka |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) Khan Shaykhun, Idlib Governorate, Syrian Republic[1] |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Alma mater | Homs Military Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ba'athist Syria |
| Rank |  Major general[2] |
| Battles/wars | Syrian Civil War |
Career and education
editHe joined the military, where he graduated from the War College with the rank of major in air defense and was assigned to the Air Force Intelligence Directorate.[5]
In 2004, he assumed office of director at the Air Force Intelligence Department in Daraa, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, then he rose through the military ranks and security positions until he assumed the position as director of the Air Force Intelligence Branch in the southern region located in the city of Harasta in 2011.[5] During the Syrian Civil War, he was held responsible for numerous human rights violations in Daraa governorate, including arbitrary arrests, torture, forced disappearances, and indiscriminate shelling of towns, causing thousands of civilians to be displaced.[6] In mid-2015, by decree of Bashar al-Assad, al-Rahmoun was appointed as head of the Political Security Directorate of the Syrian Interior Ministry.[6]
On November 26, 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed Minister of Interior in Imad Khamis government, succeeding Major General Mohammad al-Shaar.
On December 7, 2024, during the Syrian opposition offensives approaching Damascus, al-Rahmoun downplayed the threat to the capital by stating that "there is a very strong security and military cordon on the far outskirts of Damascus and its countryside, and no one (...) can penetrate this line of defense that we, the armed forces, are erecting."[7] The next day, Damascus fell to the rebel forces, and many members of the ruling junta fled the city.[8] Al-Rahmoun's current whereabouts are unknown.
Sanctions
editOwing to his involvement in the Syrian Civil War, al-Rahmoun has been subjected to sanctions by multiple countries. In 2017, he was added to the sanctions list of the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2019, he was sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom, owing to his participation in the Syrian chemical weapons program and complicity in the Ghouta massacre.[9] In 2019, he was the subject of travel bans issued by the governments of the United States, European Union countries, Canada, and Switzerland.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Prime Minister's Office. "Prime Minister's Office – Syrian Arab News Agency". Sana.sy. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "الوزراء الذين تتالوا على الوزارة". Ministry of Interior. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Members of the new Cabinet, chaired by Eng. Hussein Arnous, sworn in before President Bashar al-Assad". SANA. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Al-Rahmoun discusses with Iraqi Minister of migration situation of refugees in both countries". SANA. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ a b Prime Minister's Office. "Prime Minister's Office – Syrian Arab News Agency". Syrian Arab News Agency. Sana.sy. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ a b Prime Minister's Office. "Syrian Network Report for Human Right report on Mohammad al-Rahmoun" (PDF). Syrian Network for Human Rights. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "Syrian Interior Minister reports 'very strong' security cordon around Damascus". L'Orient Today. 7 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "Syrian rebels capture Damascus as President Assad flees the country". NBC News. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "The Syrian Regime's Interior Minister is Involved in Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Meeting With Him Harms the Issue of Syrian Refugees". Syrian Network for Human Rights. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "Emirati Interpol chief meets Syrian regime minister sanctioned for role in political suppression". The New Arab. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.