Former Syrian Vice President Abdelhalim Khaddam affirmed that the head of General Intelligence and President Bashar al-Assad’s son-in-law, Major General Asef Shawkat, is under house arrest, being closely monitored, forbidden to travel, and in the event of any resemblance to detention. He pointed out that “Assad decided to sideline Shawkat and reduce his influence since June 2005.”
In an interview with “Akhbar Al-Mustaqbal,” Khaddam expressed his belief that the Syrian president “exploited the suspicious assassination of Hezbollah official Imad Mughniyeh to remove Major General Asef Shawkat from his position, appointing Brigadier General Hafez Makhlouf as his replacement, assigning him to investigate the assassination after taking over the presidency of the Internal Security branch in General Intelligence.”
Khaddam recounted, according to his sources, that the Minister of Interior had initially announced, after Mughniyeh’s assassination, that an explosion occurred due to a gas cylinder in a car. However, after Hezbollah leaked the news of the assassination, the Syrian authorities later admitted to the attempt, indicating that Mughniyeh had been monitored from Lebanon and entered Syria in a booby-trapped car.
He confirmed that the explosion occurred inside Mughniyeh’s car and not in a car parked beside the road, suggesting that Shawkat, who took over the investigation into the crime that occurred in a security area under his control, proved that the explosion happened inside the car, indicating that the perpetrators were from within Syria. Therefore, Khaddam said, “Asef Shawkat was kept away from the investigation, and Brigadier General Hafez Makhlouf took his place. Then they sat down to think about whom to accuse.”
Regarding the leaks that have circulated in Damascus for some time about the involvement of some Arab intelligence agencies in Mughniyeh’s assassination, Khaddam considered them “naive and ridiculous,” pointing out that “the Syrian regime tried to pressure some Arab countries through these leaks, blackmailing them and luring them to attend the Arab summit conference.”
He revealed that the Syrian regime had prepared an assassination attempt against him through the General Intelligence headed by Brigadier Ali Mamlouk, who assigned a person for the task.
He clarified that the assigned person approached him and confessed to what he was asked to do. He wondered, “Who would believe that I can give orders to the Syrian Army depots to send ammunition, weapons, and fuel to (MP Michel) Aoun while he was fighting with the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in 1990?” He pointed out that it was the Syrian Army that sent the fuel.
When asked, “And he was fighting against you?” He replied, “During the phase of the ‘Elimination War,’ we took a supportive stance for General Michel Aoun due to the nature of the disagreements with Dr. Geagea. Another reason is that Geagea’s coup within the Lebanese Forces is considered a move to undermine the tripartite agreement that Syria played a role in reaching. Who would believe that I can open the Syrian Army depots and send weapons to (current Speaker of the Parliament in Lebanon) Berri for him to fight the Palestinians or Hezbollah? Who would believe that I can give orders to assassinate Kamal Jumblatt or the Mufti Hassan Khaled?”
