The Vanishing Act: How Assad's Top Enforcers Escaped Syria and Justice

In the pre-dawn hours of December 8, 2024, under the shroud of darkness, dozens of individuals congregated at the military sector of Damascus International Airport. With hurried movements, they boarded a compact Syrian Air jet.

Just an hour prior, these individuals were key members of an elite group that underpinned one of the world’s most ruthless regimes. Now, following President Bashar al-Assad’s abrupt downfall and flight from Syria, they found themselves as desperate fugitives, scrambling with their families for an escape.

Aboard this clandestine flight was Qahtan Khalil, then director of Syria’s air force intelligence. He stood accused of direct involvement in one of the civil war’s most horrific massacres, a conflict that had ravaged the nation for 13 brutal years.

Accompanying him were Ali Abbas and Ali Ayyoub, both former defense ministers sanctioned for their roles in human rights abuses and atrocities committed throughout the conflict.

Also present was the military chief of staff, Abdul Karim Ibrahim, who faced accusations of enabling torture and sexual violence against innocent civilians.

The presence of these high-ranking and other regime figures on that pivotal flight was confirmed to The New York Times by one passenger and two additional former officials privy to the escape details.

Ali Abbas, Ali Ayyoub and Abdul Karim Ibrahim were some of the highest ranking officials in Syria, all accused of spearheading the military’s use of indiscriminate violence.Credit…Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images; SANA/AFP via Getty Images; Syrian Ministry of Defense

Mr. al-Assad’s own stealthy departure from Damascus earlier that night had caught his inner circle completely off guard, becoming a stark symbol of his regime’s sudden and spectacular collapse, as a rapid rebel offensive closed in on the Syrian capital.

His top enforcers swiftly mirrored his actions. Within a mere few hours, the fundamental pillars of a deeply repressive system hadn’t just crumbled; they had seemingly evaporated into thin air.

While some secured flights, others sped to their coastal villas, making their getaways on luxurious speedboats.

Others escaped in lavish car convoys, unknowingly waved through newly established rebel checkpoints. A select few sought refuge in the Russian Embassy, which then facilitated their passage to Moscow, Bashar al-Assad’s crucial ally.

For the countless Syrians who endured the horrors of the Assad regime – losing loved ones, suffering torture, imprisonment, or displacement – their devastated homeland was now a vast crime scene from which the primary perpetrators had collectively vanished.

Scenes from December 2024 of destruction in Damascus after a 13-year civil war that left half a million people dead.Credit…David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Now, ten months after the regime’s collapse, a war-torn nation grapples not only with the monumental challenge of reconstruction but also with the formidable task of tracking down and bringing to justice those responsible for some of the century’s most egregious state-sponsored crimes.

Former rebel combatants and Syria’s nascent government are actively pursuing these individuals through informants, sophisticated computer and phone hacks, and evidence unearthed from abandoned regime strongholds. Meanwhile, prosecutors across Europe and in the United States are either building new cases or re-examining existing ones. Syrian civil society organizations and United Nations investigators tirelessly gather evidence and testimonies, holding onto the hope that justice will eventually prevail.

The individuals targeted are among the world’s most elusive. Many commanded immense power for decades, yet remained shadowy figures: their true names, ages, and in some instances, even their faces, largely unknown to the public.

This scarcity of accurate information has frequently resulted in errors within media reports, sanctions lists, and law enforcement databases. It has, in all likelihood, allowed some of the regime’s most infamous perpetrators to evade both Syrian and European authorities since Bashar al-Assad’s fall.

How to Vanish: The Blueprint of Escape

Over recent months, a dedicated reporting team from The Times has undertaken the monumental task of uncovering the true identities and roles of 55 former high-ranking Syrian government and military officials. These individuals, prominent on international sanctions lists, are deeply implicated in the most tragic periods of Syria’s recent history.

This extensive investigation has spanned a wide array of methods, from meticulously tracing digital footprints and family social media profiles to rummaging through abandoned properties for crucial old phone bills and credit card details.

Reporters conducted interviews with dozens of former regime officials, many of whom requested anonymity due to safety concerns. They also spoke with Syrian human rights lawyers, European law enforcement, civil society groups and members of the new Syrian government. The team visited numerous abandoned villas and businesses linked to these regime leaders, meticulously reconstructing several of their escape routes.

While the current locations of many of these 55 former key officials who sustained Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship remain shrouded in mystery, The Times has managed to track down about a dozen, revealing a diverse range of post-regime fates.

Bashar al-Assad himself is reportedly residing in Russia, having seemingly severed ties with most of his former associates, according to accounts from former Syrian officials, relatives, and close contacts.

Maher al-Assad, who wielded power second only to his brother Bashar during the regime era, is now enjoying a life of luxurious exile in Moscow. He is reportedly accompanied by several former senior commanders, including Jamal Younes. This information comes from accounts by former regime officials and business contacts, corroborated by video evidence verified by The Times.

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Maher al-Assad, second only to his brother Bashar in power over regime-era Syria.

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Jamal Younes, a former major general in Maher al-Assad’s Fourth Division.Credit…Adwan Mustafa, via Facebook

Meanwhile, figures like Ghiath Dalla, a brigadier general whose forces were implicated in the brutal suppression of protests, are among several ex-officers reportedly orchestrating sabotage operations from Lebanon. This is according to former military commanders who shared relevant text message exchanges with The Times. These same commanders indicated that Mr. Dalla is coordinating his efforts with other former regime leaders, such as Suhail al-Hassan and Kamal al-Hassan, both based in Moscow.

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Ghiath Dalla, in a photo uploaded to Facebook in May 2024, led forces tied to the state-run captagon trade, and faced sanctions by the European Union in 2025 for his role in sectarian violence.Credit…Aleppo and the Northern and Eastern Countryside News Network, via Facebook

Some officials, however, have brokered ambiguous agreements to remain within Syria, as revealed by an ex-military commander and sources working with the new government. Notably, Times reporters discovered Amr al-Armanazi, who once directed Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons program, still residing in his Damascus home.

Tracking such a vast and influential group presents a monumental challenge for those committed to justice. It involves not only building intricate criminal cases but also the daunting prospect of developing viable methods for their prosecution.

At the core of this challenge lies the critical question of how to effectively coordinate international efforts to locate individuals who are determined to remain hidden.

According to former employees and regime insiders, many of these officials leveraged their easy access to government offices to acquire authentic Syrian passports under assumed identities. This privilege then allowed them to secure passports from Caribbean nations, further facilitating their disappearance.

Mazen Darwish, head of the Paris-based Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a leading organization in the pursuit of justice for Syria, stated: “Some of these individuals have effectively bought new identities by acquiring citizenship through substantial real estate investments or direct financial payments. They exploit these new names and nationalities to remain undetected.”

He added, “These individuals possess the financial resources to travel without constraint, purchase new passports, and simply vanish.”

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The Stark Realization: ‘He’s Gone.’

The widespread flight from Damascus commenced late on the night of December 7, 2024, triggered by a moment of undeniable realization.

For hours that night, Bashar al-Assad’s senior aides, positioned near his presidential palace office, had calmly reassured anxious colleagues and family members. Multiple regime-era officials confirmed that the palace staff confidently asserted the president was present, meticulously strategizing with his military, Russian, and Iranian advisors to counter the encroaching rebel forces.

However, that meticulously crafted plan never materialized. Nor, it turned out, did Mr. al-Assad.

Upon realizing his absence, senior aides swiftly traced him to his residence, as reported by three former palace officials. Soon after, presidential guards confirmed that Russian officials had discreetly transported Bashar al-Assad away in a convoy of three SUVs, accompanied by his son and personal assistant. According to these former aides, the only other individuals the president requested to join his escape were two financial advisors, whose assistance, two regime insiders later clarified, would be crucial for accessing his assets in Russia.

The former president and his small entourage then boarded a jet that ferried them to Hmeimim, a vital coastal air base under Russian control, which had served as his most crucial supporter throughout the war.

Learning of the president’s flight, the deserted aides began frantically contacting security officials and their loved ones. With rebel forces now reaching the outskirts of Damascus, there was absolutely no time to spare.

“He’s gone,” was the terse message one senior aide delivered to a close relative, as he recounted the events of that night to The Times. The aide swiftly instructed his family to pack their essentials and proceed to the defense ministry in Umayyad Square, the capital’s central hub.

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Qahtan Khalil, a former top intelligence official, has been accused of directing a massacre inside Syria.Credit…Gafer Salloum, via Facebook

At the ministry, the senior aide and his family converged with other security officers and their families, where they rendezvoused with Qahtan Khalil, the air force intelligence director. Khalil had meticulously organized an escape flight – the same one carrying many other high-ranking officials – bound for Hmeimim. The Yak-40 private jet departed Damascus airport around 1:30 a.m. on December 8, according to one passenger, a former palace official.

This account is corroborated by satellite imagery analysis, which shows a Yak-40 aircraft on the Damascus tarmac in the days leading up to the escape. The plane then vanished on the critical night and seemingly reappeared at Hmeimim shortly thereafter.

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Satellite images captured the movement of a Yak-40 aircraft leaving Damascus.CreditCredit…Planet Labs

“The passengers crammed into that plane were absolutely terrified,” the former palace official recounted. He added that while the flight typically lasted only 30 minutes, “that night, it felt like we were flying forever.”

Elsewhere in the city, Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher, commander of Syria’s formidable 4th Division, was desperately orchestrating his own escape. He contacted a family friend and a business associate, according to two close contacts. Maher al-Assad urged them to leave their homes immediately and await him outside. Soon after, he tore down the street in his car, whisking them away to catch his own flight.

The Russian-operated Hmeimim airport, where at least five of the Syrian officials under investigation by The Times landed, is strategically linked to a substantial military base used by Russia.

For many years, Russian military intervention was instrumental in Bashar al-Assad’s sustained ability to suppress the armed rebellion against his rule. In exchange, Moscow secured control over crucial Mediterranean ports and bases, alongside access to highly profitable phosphate mining and fossil fuel agreements.

The Russians once again played an equally decisive role, this time in the escape of Bashar al-Assad and many of his senior enforcers. Witnesses present at Hmeimim in the early hours described a scene of utter pandemonium as the deposed officials made their hurried exits.

According to two eyewitnesses, individuals poured into the Russian base, laden with bags overflowing with cash and gold. Discarded Syrian military uniforms were scattered haphazardly across the area, they noted.

Several officials hastily regrouped, conversing with Russian officers who would, in the ensuing hours and days, transport them via jets to Moscow, as confirmed by three former officials.

Conversely, many family members of these regime figures opted to be driven to their luxurious coastal homes situated near the base.

Empty Safes and Narrow Escapes

Back in Damascus, within the vast security compound in the capital’s southwest, approximately 3,000 members of the General Intelligence services remained, completely oblivious to the flight of the regime’s elite. Under the command of their director, Hossam Louka, a figure notorious for overseeing mass detention and systemic torture, they waited nervously on high alert.

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Hossam Louka, far left, a former Syrian official implicated in overseeing mass detention and systemic torture. He’s seen here with two others The Times is also investigating: Suhail al-Hassan and Ali Ayyoub, third and fifth from left.Credit…Syrian Arab News Agency

A senior officer who worked under Louka described him as utterly subservient to Bashar al-Assad: “He wouldn’t even move an ashtray from here to there without asking Bashar for permission.”

The officer recounted how they had been instructed to prepare for a counterattack, an order that, ultimately, never arrived.

A friend of Louka’s revealed that he had repeatedly called the intelligence director for updates throughout the night, consistently receiving assurances that there was no cause for alarm. However, at 2 a.m., Louka answered the phone in a rush, stating only that he was packing to flee.

An hour later, Louka’s officers entered his office, only to find he had deserted them without a single word. Furthermore, on his way out, Louka had instructed the intelligence service’s accountant to open the headquarters safe, according to one officer present at the time. Louka then absconded with all the cash within, an estimated $1,360,000. Three former regime officials assert their belief that Louka has since reached Russia, though The Times has not yet independently verified this claim.

Within the very same security compound, Kamal al-Hassan, another high-ranking former official, similarly ransacked his office headquarters. He seized a hard drive along with all the money from his administrative office’s safe, as confirmed by a friend and a senior regime-era figure in contact with one of Al-Hassan’s deputies.

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Kamal al-Hassan, far left, pictured at a conference on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2023. Mr. al-Hassan oversaw some of the intelligence branches most notorious for torturing detainees.Credit…Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Al-Hassan, who served as the head of military intelligence, stands accused of orchestrating mass arrests, brutal torture, and the execution of countless detainees.

His escape, however, proved less straightforward than others. Al-Hassan sustained injuries during a gunfight with rebels while attempting to depart his home in a Damascus suburb, previously known as Qura al-Assad, or “Assad’s Villages”—an area renowned for its opulent villas housing many regime elites. He evaded capture by moving from house to house, according to his friend and the regime-era official, eventually reaching the sanctuary of the Russian Embassy, which provided him refuge.

The Times reached out to Al-Hassan via an intermediary, who spoke with him by phone; however, he refused to disclose his current location or grant an interview. He did, nonetheless, describe his escape under hostile fire and confirmed he received shelter at “a diplomatic mission” prior to leaving Syria.

Also seeking asylum at the Russian Embassy was retired national security director Ali Mamlouk, a figure who played a crucial role in establishing the systematic mass arrests, torture, and disappearances that characterized five decades of Assad family rule.

According to both a friend who remained in contact with Mamlouk and a relative confirmed that he only became aware of the regime’s collapse around 4 a.m., via a phone call. As he attempted to join other officials making their way to the airport, his vehicle convoy was reportedly ambushed, though the identities of the attackers remain unclear.

While the attackers’ identities were not confirmed, sources noted that given his extensive history, Mamlouk would undoubtedly have accumulated numerous enemies.

Having served as an intelligence director not only for Bashar al-Assad but also for his father and predecessor, Hafez, Mamlouk possessed intimate knowledge of the government’s deepest secrets.

“He was the black box of the regime,” one friend remarked, “not just since Bashar’s time, but from the era of Hafez. He knew everything.”

Mamlouk, escaping without injury, sped to the Russian Embassy, according to three individuals familiar with his flight.

Both Mamlouk and Al-Hassan remained sheltered there until Russian officials organized a secure convoy to transport them to the Hmeimim base. Subsequently, both men successfully reached Russia, as reported by three sources to The Times.

Near Misses and New Identities

To minimize regime resistance, a tacit agreement reportedly existed among several former regime figures: rebel commanders would largely overlook Assad loyalists fleeing towards Syria’s Mediterranean coast. This region, the heartland of the Alawite minority sect to which Bashar al-Assad belonged, was also where many of the regime’s security forces were historically recruited.

However, such leniency would have been highly improbable for former Maj. Gen. Bassam Hassan. Few within Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle commanded more dread than Hassan, who faced accusations of a horrifying litany of crimes, ranging from coordinating the regime’s chemical weapons assaults to the kidnapping of American journalist Austin Tice.

Astonishingly, Hassan successfully evaded detection, despite having slept through the initial chaotic hours of the regime’s collapse. He was roused from sleep just before 5 a.m. by one of his senior commanders, according to three individuals familiar with his account.

Hassan promptly organized a convoy of three vehicles, transporting his wife, adult children, and bags filled with money, as detailed by two sources familiar with his story. His apprehension about a potential attack was so profound that he arranged for his wife and children to travel in separate cars, an associate noted, to prevent the entire family from being targeted simultaneously.

As their convoy neared the city of Homs, approximately 100 miles north of Damascus, rebels intercepted the first vehicle, an SUV. Hassan’s wife and daughter were forcibly removed and instructed to abandon all their belongings, including their purses, inside the vehicle, a witness reported.

Seemingly content with their plunder, the rebels paid no attention as the women climbed into the second car, unknowingly joining one of the Assad regime’s most infamous enforcers.

The rebels had little to no chance of identifying him. Misleading photographs of Hassan had circulated in the media for years. Even official sanctions documents from the United States and British governments contained incorrect names or birth years for him. The Times has, however, successfully obtained and verified what is believed to be the only recent photograph of Hassan.

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A rare photo of Bassam Hassan, a key figure in the Assad regime.

After successfully navigating the checkpoint, Hassan eventually reached Lebanon and then Iran, aided by Iranian officials, as confirmed by interviews with officials from the Assad regime, Lebanon, and the U.S.

He has since returned to Beirut, reportedly as part of an arrangement to supply information to American intelligence. Associates noted that he has been seen frequenting cafes and upscale restaurants with his wife. When contacted via a Lebanese WhatsApp number, he declined an interview.

The Harsh Truth: Justice Undelivered

For the countless Syrian victims of the Assad regime, the quest for justice appears increasingly futile.

It remains uncertain whether the current government, led by former Islamist leader Ahmed al-Shara, possesses either the capability or the determination to aggressively pursue Assad officials accused of war crimes. Such a pursuit would inevitably shine a critical light on the alleged crimes of some within his own administration.

Given the longstanding divisions among foreign powers regarding the Syrian conflict and the uprising against its former dictator, the prospect of an international tribunal also remains dim.

For those tirelessly working to ensure the regime’s atrocities are not forgotten, a harsh reality persists: Bashar al-Assad’s most senior enforcers continue to live in comfort, consistently staying one step ahead of those seeking to bring them to justice.

“Assad’s men are either drinking whiskey and playing cards in Moscow, or they’re lounging in some opulent Emirati villa,” a friend of several top-ranking regime officials lamented. “They have completely forgotten about any place that was once called Syria.”

Acknowledgments:

Reporting contributed by Devon Lum and Neil Collier. Aaron Byrd provided motion graphics production. Christoph Koettl offered additional satellite imagery analysis.

The Vanishing Act: How Assad’s Top Enforcers Escaped Syria and Justice

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