Syria's Intelligence Chief Arrested After Coup Attempt

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Syria's Intelligence Chief Arrested After Coup Attempt

Fecha de publicación:

12 May 2015

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Syria’s chief of intelligence, Ali Mamlouk, has been placed under house arrest after being suspected of planning a coup against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to a report by the British newspaper Telegraph on Monday.

Unnamed sources told the Telegraph that Mamlouk got in contact with Turkish intelligence officials following the fall of the strategic city of Idlib in the hands of an Islamist rebel coalition led by Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida arm in Syria.

"Mamlouk had been communicating with Turkish intelligence through an intermediary," a senior regime source with knowledge of the plan told the Telegraph.

Mamlouk also, according to the same sources, used a businessman from Aleppo as an intermediary to get in contact with Rifaat Assad, the uncle of President Assad and the brother of former President Hafez Assad. Rifaat has been living in exile for decades after being suspected of a coup attempt against his brother in the 1980s.

Rifaat declined to comment on the allegation, according to the Telegraph. Sources also said that some within the government wished to bring Rifaat back to Syria to replace the current president.

In May, several Arabic media outlets made similar claims as those of the Telegraph's report. Syrian news site Souriyati reported on May 6 that the president of Syria had issued a presidential decree relieving Mamlouk of his post and appointing a new intelligence chief.

Other reports at the time also claimed that Mamlouk was in the hospital under unknown circumstances, with reports suggesting that he was being treated for leukemia.

However, several Syria analysts and journalists took to twitter Monday following the telegraph's report and slamming it as baseless. Josh Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and editor of Syria Comment, said that according to his sources Mamlouk was still leading the intelligence Syrian agency.

The reports of Mamlouk's sidelining come weeks after the death of former head of the head of the Political Security Directorate Rustum Ghazaleh. His family told AFP at the time that he died in the Hospital due to high blood pressure debunking reports that he was murdered.

In March, President Assad fired Ghazaleh along with General Rafiq Shehadeh, the former head of the military intelligence, after they had a physical dispute over operations against the rebels.

Chemical Fabrications: East Ghouta and Syria’s Missing Children

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Chemical Fabrications: East Ghouta and Syria’s Missing Children

Unnamed sources said the top spy was in contact with Turkish intelligence as part of a plot to topple the Syrian government. Syria’s chief of intelligence, Ali Mamlouk, has been placed under house arrest after being suspected of planning a coup against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to a report by the British newspaper Telegraph on Monday. Unnamed sources told the Telegraph that Mamlouk got in contact with Turkish intelligence officials following the fall of the strategic city of Idlib in the hands of an Islamist rebel coalition led by Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida arm in Syria. "Mamlouk had been communicating with Turkish intelligence through an intermediary," a senior regime source with knowledge of the plan told the Telegraph. Mamlouk also, according to the same sources, used a businessman from Aleppo as an intermediary to get in contact with Rifaat Assad, the uncle of President Assad and the brother of former President Hafez Assad. Rifaat has been living in exile for decades after being suspected of a coup attempt against his brother in the 1980s. Rifaat declined to comment on the allegation, according to the Telegraph. Sources also said that some within the government wished to bring Rifaat back to Syria to replace the current president. RELATED: 215,000 Massacred in Four Years of Syrian Conflict In May, several Arabic media outlets made similar claims as those of the Telegraph's report. Syrian news site Souriyati reported on May 6 that the president of Syria had issued a presidential decree relieving Mamlouk of his post and appointing a new intelligence chief. Other reports at the time also claimed that Mamlouk was in the hospital under unknown circumstances, with reports suggesting that he was being treated for leukemia. However, several Syria analysts and journalists took to twitter Monday following the telegraph's report and slamming it as baseless. Josh Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and editor of Syria Comment, said that according to his sources Mamlouk was still leading the intelligence Syrian agency The reports of Mamlouk's sidelining come weeks after the death of former head of the head of the Political Security Directorate Rustum Ghazaleh. His family told AFP at the time that he died in the Hospital due to high blood pressure debunking reports that he was murdered. In March, President Assad fired Ghazaleh along with General Rafiq Shehadeh, the former head of the military intelligence, after they had a physical dispute over operations against the rebels. RELATED: Chemical Fabrications: East Ghouta and Syria’s Missing Children