Syria's defence ministry on Sunday announced that Riad al-Asaad, one of the first defectors from toppled president Bashar al-Assad's forces, had been promoted to the rank of brigadier general.Asaad was a colonel in the Syrian Air Force under Assad before he defected to form the rebel Free Syrian Army at the outset of the conflict in 2011.
Defence ministry spokesman Asem Ghalyoun said in a statement on X that "Colonel Riad al-Asaad has been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, to complete his role in the military establishment".
Asaad -- who lost his leg in March 2013 in a bomb attack on his car in eastern Syria -- returned to Damascus in late 2024 following Assad's toppling.
He told AFP in an interview at the time that he had been working closely with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that led the lightning offensive that overthrew Assad.
The new authorities had announced, weeks after arriving in Damascus, the dissolution of the army and all security agencies affiliated with the former regime.
In May 2025, Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said the leadership of the new army would consist of two components: "defected officers (from the former army) whose records are now held by the ministry," which will form "a committee to propose their promotion," as well as leaders of opposition factions.
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