Alawite general killed in mysterious circumstances in Deir a-Zor

WHO KILLED JAMEA?: Over the weekend Syrian Military Intelligence chief General Jamea Jamea was buried in Syria with full military honors after being killed last Thursday by an armed opposition bullet in Deir al-Zor in east Syria, according Syrian state television. “Maj. Gen. Jamea Jamea was martyred while carrying out his national duties to defend Syria and its people, and chasing terrorists in Deir al-Zur,” state television reported in an urgent bulletin interrupting regular programming. The 59-year-old Jamea was been assigned with suppressing the uprising in Deir al-Zor province.

The official account was filled in by further details from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which claimed that “Gen. Jamea was killed after being shot by a sniper’s bullet in al-Rashidea neighborhood during clashes between Jabhat a-Nusra and al-Fatihun brigade’s fighters against the regime’s forces.” Other opposition activists in addition to pro-regime Facebook pages said the Alawite general was assassinated by a roadside bomb targeting his motorcade in al-Jura, Deir al-Zour.

Some Syrians are speculating in the social media that the regime is the one who killed him in part because the pro-regime social media reported Jamea’s death first. Activists said that Jamea had tried to negotiate with fighting battalions more than once in Deir e-Zor. His idea was to exchange prisoners with rebel groups, but his request was refused by the administration of Military Intelligence. The official announcement of his death was delayed by three days, not appearing until this past Saturday.

Jamea Jamea had been targeted since the beginning of the Syrian revolution with two assassination attempts. The first was a car bomb and the second was a bullet that injured him and almost cost him his life.

Jamea was considered to be close to President Bashar al-Assad. He was born in Latakia province in 1956 and became the most famous officer while the Syrian military occupied Lebanon from 1976-2005. His position was Security and Investigation Minister in Beirut. When the Syrian army withdrew from Lebanon, Jamea was moved to Deir e-Zor in Syria’s east and became the head of Military Security.

Later, he was moved to a commanding position in Damascus before being promoted to the Chief of Syrian Aviation Intelligence in Aleppo. Jamea was under international investigation as a suspected in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri of Lebanon in February 2005. Jamea was also on the United States’ blacklist as a supporter of terrorist activities in Lebanon.

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Video courtesy of jabelhnews1.