Syria makes command changes to 1st Corps following Israeli threats

The report named Maj.-Gen. Ramadan Ramadan as incoming commander of the 1st Corps, replacing Lua’a Ali Ahmad Asa’ad.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM

DECEMBER 13, 2020 10:58

The Syrian Arab Army has made changes to the leadership of the 1st Corps and its operations center in the southern part of the country, following threats to its leadership by the Israeli military.

The IDF, which has accused the SAA of helping Lebanon’s Hezbollah establish a permanent military presence on the Golan Heights, has been dropping leaflets along the Israeli-Syrian border in recent weeks warning the SAA’s 1st Corps not to work with the Iranian proxy group.

According to Lebanon’s Al-Modon online newspaper, the SAA has made changes to the division and brigade leadership after the leaflets dropped by Israel specifically threatened them.

The report named Maj.-Gen. Ramadan Ramadan as incoming commander of the 1st Corps, replacing Lua’a Ali Ahmad Asa’ad.

In April the IDF released a short video showing a visit by Asa’ad to Hezbollah positions in the country. “We see you. Consider this a warning,” the Israeli military said in a tweet, releasing the footage.

Quoting an opposition military source, Ramadan is “not qualified in terms of seniority and military rank” to be promoted to commander of the 1st Corps and did not occupy any previous command positions in it.

“It is clear that the only reason for appointing Maj.-Gen. Ramadan to his new position is his close ties to Hezbollah and Iran, as he is from the Shiite community and has been known since the beginning of the revolution to push the army into confronting it,” the source was quoted by Al-Modon as saying.

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The source added that Iran has “depended” on him since it entered the civil war on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad and that Ramadan “previously led an important part of the military operations in the southern and eastern countryside of Idlib.”

Other changes include the commanders of the 7th Division, 5th Division, 90th Brigade, 12th Brigade and others.

Following the return of regime forces to the south of the country and the rebuilding of the SAA, which was decimated over the course of the ongoing civil war, the influence of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran on the army has increased dramatically.

Though Israel usually refrains from targeting terror operatives in an attempt to avoid retaliation, several strikes blamed on the Jewish State have killed several Hezbollah operatives in southern Syria on the Golan Heights, where the group has been trying to establish a permanent military presence.

In addition to the 1st Corps, Hezbollah forces have been deployed to 28 locations as part of the Southern Command unit, as well as to another 30 locations where there is a presence of cells operating under the Golan Project.

The Southern Command, led by Munir Ali Na’im Shaiti, is the Hezbollah unit in charge of southern Syria. Its main function is to create a Hezbollah infrastructure in the area and not only gather intelligence on the IDF but also train the 1st Corps for war with Israel.

Should the Lebanese terror group decide to carry out an attack from the Golan Heights, the IDF believes that Hezbollah will use the 1st Corps, which has significant weaponry and logistics available to them, against Israel. This will not only provide Hezbollah with better mobility and firepower, but it will also provide the manpower.

The Golan Project is under the command of Ali Mussa Daqduq and has its headquarters in Damascus and the Lebanese capital of Beirut.  A portion of the operatives have undergone training by Hezbollah in sabotage, sharpshooting and firing Grad rockets. The project has been accused of launching attacks against Israel.