About 18 months after the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, security and political developments in Iraq, along with evolving relations between Baghdad and Damascus, prompted authorities to reconsider the presence of Syrian officers linked to the former government of Bashar al-Assad who are based in Iraq. About 130 senior officers are believed to be based north of Baghdad. In recent days, The New Arab gathered six consistent testimonies from Iraqi officials in Baghdad, who said government directives had recently been issued banning any political or media activity by dozens of senior Assad regime officers housed at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad.
They confirmed waning political interest in their presence compared with the first months after the regime fell in December 2024. On 7 and 8 December 2024, hundreds of members of the ousted Syrian regime army fled to Iraq. Baghdad allowed them to enter via the Albu Kamal border crossing after disarming them.
The Iraqi defence ministry said at the time it had received the Syrian military personnel on humanitarian grounds. More than 1,900 of those soldiers, with ranks ranging from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel, later returned to Syria after settling their status with the new authorities in Damascus. However, dozens of Assad regime officers, including brigadier generals, major generals and commanders of units, brigades and security agencies, refused to return.
This prompted the Iraqi government to temporarily relocate them to a special compound within Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, with dedicated security and protection measures. Some are believed to be close to the Assad family and wanted on charges of crimes against humanity during the years of the Syrian revolution between 2011 and 2024. Restrictions Over the course of a week, The New Arab gathered consistent testimonies from six Iraqi officials, including a senior officer in the Iraqi defence ministry, confirming directives from the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani that ban any political or media activities by officers and regime personnel at Camp Taji.
The measures include restricting their access to Facebook and X and informing them not to film videos with political content, comment on events, or explain their situation inside the camp where they reside. They are limited to communicating with their families in Syria. The New Arab learned from one source that an officer from the regime's Fourth Division attempted suicide weeks ago by taking a large quantity of blood pressure medication, but was transferred to a private medical centre and recovered after urgent intervention.
According to one source, recent developments with Damascus, particularly after an agreement to export Iraqi crude oil shipments in mid-April through the Syrian port of Baniyas following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as security understandings related to the border and intelligence sharing, have pushed Baghdad to avoid retaining the Assad regime officers as leverage. The same source told The New Arab that the Iraqi government now deals with them on humanitarian grounds, as some are in their mid-sixties and require healthcare. At the same time, it does not want to create tension in relations with Syria, given the support the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has received from the administration of US President Donald Trump and the importance of the recent security and economic understandings reached.
The total number of remaining Assad regime officers in Iraq is about 130 senior officers and security officials who held sensitive positions under Bashar al-Assad. The New Arab also learned that their attempts to obtain visas to travel to Russia or another country have faltered, particularly due to their inability to obtain new Syrian passports. At the Military Training School inside Camp Taji, about 25 kilometres north of Baghdad, there is a residential complex comprising dozens of rooms originally prepared for Iraqi soldiers training at the camp.
Political forces within the ruling Coordination Framework oppose handing them over to Damascus because they are wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, according to the same sources. The sources ruled out their handover for now, despite not having been granted refugee status. One official said these military personnel "no longer represent political importance for Iraq, and the government in Damascus is not interested in them".
He told The New Arab that "the Iraqi authorities' position is to end the care of these officers". However, some faction and party leaders in Iraq hold a different view, according to the same official. They favour keeping them "to protect them from potential retaliation by the new Syrian government, especially as some are close to the Assad family and others are wanted on charges of crimes against humanity during the Syrian revolution from 2011 to 2024".
He added that "the Iraqi authorities have the final say on this matter". '