Lebanese security agencies discovered the body of former Syrian officer Ghassan Naasan al-Sakhni in the Keserwan region.
Authorities are investigating whether his killing was purely criminal or had a political angle.
The Lebanese army said the killer, a Syrian, has been arrested.
In a statement, it said that the perpetrator had lured Sakhni to the outskirts of the town of Kfar Yassine in Keserwan on December 22. He shot him dead over a financial dispute and fled the scene. He was arrested in the border town of Tal Bire in the northern Akkar region.
Investigations are underway.
Information has so far revealed that Sakhani was an officer in Syrian intelligence agency under the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad.
He enjoyed close ties with Suheil al-Hassan, also known as the “Tiger”, and who was one of the most prominent members of Syria’s air intelligence. He was involved in bloody clashes during Syria’s civil war, most notably in eastern Ghouta.
Information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat revealed that Sakhni and dozens of regime members had fled Syria to Lebanon after Assad’s ouster in December 2024.
The probe has so far found that Sakhni had resided in a chalet in the Tabarja region before moving to an apartment in the same area.
While serving in Syria, he headed a military group that was active in the Hama countryside.
The murder has deepened concerns in Lebanon that the country will turn into an arena for settling scores with former regime members, especially since several regime officers and officials had sought shelter in the country after Assad’s ouster.
A judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Keserwan was an unusual place for Sakhni to have sought refuge given that it lies outside Hezbollah’s areas of influence, such as the Bekaa and Beirut’s southern suburbs. Hezbollah was a main ally of the regime.
The new authorities in Syria have reportedly filed requests to Lebanon to turn over some 200 former regime security and military officials.
The judicial source denied the reports.
The only requests tied to former regime officials have been received from the United States, calling for the arrest of former air intelligence chief Jamil al-Hassan and former national security chief Ali Mamlouk, and from France, calling for the probes into Hassan, Mamlouk and Abdul Salam Mahmoud over suspicions they were involved in the killing of French nationals.
