Syria’s firm grasp on security has been challenged by recent attacks and political assassinations that have raised fears of internal upheaval and possible foreign intervention.
Mugniyah Assassination
Imad Mugniyah, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed in Damascus when a bomb exploded under his vehicle on February 12, 2008. Mugniyah, a long-time main target of Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies, was accused of involvement in several terrorist acts including the 1983 bombing of a U.S marine barracks in Beirut and the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Argentina. Though there are many theories regarding who killed Mugniyah, no one has taken responsibility for the attack.
Violence during Kurdish New Year Celebrations
On March 21, Syrian security forces killed three Kurdish men who were celebrating the Kurdish new year. Kurdish groups went ahead with the celebrations, even though martial law in Syria, which has been imposed since 1961, required the groups to obtain prior approval from the government. At the time of the incident, there were conflicting reports as to whether the security forces’ actions were provoked by the crowd. The violence highlighted problems between the Syrian government and the Syrian Kurdish population; in 2004 security forces killed 30 people during Kurdish riots and demonstrations following a soccer game.
Riots in Saydnaya Prison
Syrian rights groups claimed that Syrian security forces killed 25 inmates during a riot at the Saydnaya prison, which mainly houses Islamist political prisoners, on July 5. Syrian authorities provided little detail about the riots, which reportedly began after a protest of the prison’s living conditions. According to an official from Human Rights Watch, torture and other human rights abuses are common in the prison.
Assassination of Brig. Gen. Mohammed Suleiman
Suleiman was killed at a Syrian beach resort in early August. Suleiman served as President Bashar al-Assad’s closest adviser, main interlocutor between Syria and the IAEA and as the alleged overseer of Syria’s weapons shipments to Hezbollah. The assassination led to speculation about regime infighting, including one theory that Suleiman’s killing was an act of revenge by members of the intelligence and security apparatus who had been dismissed following the embarrassment of Mugniyah’s assassination. In late September, an IAEA official said that its investigation into Syrian nuclear activity had been hindered because of Suleiman’s death.
Hisham al-Labadani Assassination
The Reform Party of Syria, an opposition forum in the United States, reported that al-Labadani, chief aide to Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, was killed in September. Earlier in September, the Kuwaiti newspaper reported that Meshal had moved to Sudan, as part of an agreement with the government to leave the country following renewed indirect negotiations with Israel. Hamas issued a response the same day, denying any such agreement.
Car Bomb in Damascus
On September 27, 17 people were killed and more than 14 wounded when a car bomb went off near a Syrian intelligence agency and Shiite shrine in Damascus. The attack was the worst bombing in Syria since the 1980s. A Syrian news agency with close ties to the government blamed the attack on foreign terrorists. Possible motives for the attack include growing Sunni-Shiite tensions in the region, internal rivalries within the country’s security forces, Syria’s tightening of its border with Iraq and its close relations with Iran, and Syria’s engaging in indirect negotiations with Israel.
