Lebanon has extradited a former Syrian general, Maj Gen Adel Issa, to Syria to face war crimes charges, marking the first such handover since Bashar al-Assad's regime fell in December 2024. The move follows sustained pressure from Syria's new authorities on Lebanon to act against former security and military figures who fled across the border after Assad's government collapsed, and signals growing cooperation between Damascus and Beirut on prosecuting alleged perpetrators of civil war-era abuses.

Issa, 67, allegedly led ground forces in Deir Ezzor province until 2016 and faces charges including murder and "torture leading to death" as well as inciting sectarian conflict; he denies the allegations. He was detained on 8 August after visiting the Syrian embassy in Beirut and was handed over on Wednesday under a bilateral extradition agreement dating to 1951, with his case now going before a referral judge in Damascus. Syria's new government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has requested prosecution of more than 200 former senior officers from Lebanon and recently secured death sentences in absentia against Assad and his brother Maher, along with two of their cousins.