The Assad government has appointed Major General Ali Saleh as Chairman of the Security and Military Committee in Idleb Governorate, after previously being appointed as commander of the Fifth Corps.
Who is Zaid Saleh
When the protest movement broke out in Syria in March 2011, Zaid Salah was leading the 62nd Mechanized Brigade at the rank of brigadier general. He commanded a number of military operations in areas close to Qatana in the Damascus countryside, which led to the deaths of dozens of civilians and the arrest of an unknown number. This fighting resulted in regime forces taking control over the city of al-Sheikh Maskin in the northwestern Daraa countryside.
Zaid Salah was rewarded for this accomplishment by being transferred to the Republican Guard, where he was promoted to the rank of major general and made head of the Republican Guard staff.
He was also appointed commander of the Security and Military Committee in Aleppo in August 2016. He commanded Republican Guard formations in the city and had a major role in taking control of Aleppo’s eastern districts with help from Russian forces at the end of 2016.
Major General Salah is considered to be directly responsible for the operations that killed about 1,370 civilians during the military campaign against Aleppo’s eastern districts between Nov. 15, 2016 and Dec. 12, 2016, in addition to the hundreds of civilians killed during the period he served as head of the Security and Military Committee in Aleppo city, as well as the expulsion of tens of thousands of the city’s residents.
At the end of December 2017, Bashar al-Assad issued a decision to form the Republican Guard 30th Division, including all forces operating in Aleppo. Major General Zaid Salah was named commander, and continued in his position until the end of October 2017. He was then appointed deputy commander of the Republican Guard under Major General Talal Makhlouf. At the start of 2018, a decision was issued to appoint Major General Zaid Salah as commander of the Fifth Assault Corps, which was overseen directly by Russia.
Major General Salah has played a major role in expulsions, as he has overseen the conclusion of a number of agreements that resulted in civilians departing the eastern areas of Aleppo.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
