The Syrian Ministry of Defense has made new appointments within its ranks, incorporating two prominent former officers of the Syrian National Army (SNA): Major General Salim Idris and Brigadier General Hassan al-Hamadeh.
Aasem Ghalyoun, head of Media and Communications at the Defense Ministry, announced on Facebook on Thursday, October 9, that Idris was appointed as an adviser to the National Academy for Military Engineering. The ministry’s public relations office confirmed the appointments to Enab Baladi, although they were not published on official ministry channels.
Who is Salim Idris?
Major General Idris is one of the most prominent defected officers from the former regime. He announced his defection on August 20, 2012, while holding the rank of brigadier general, and moved to Turkey with the help of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). He later returned to opposition-held areas in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, where he continued his military work.
Idris served as Chief of Staff of the FSA from December 2012 to March 2014.
He holds a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Aleppo (1982) and a master’s in information technology from the Higher Institute for Transport and Communications Sciences in Germany (1987).
Known for his close relations with Western officials and the United States during his FSA leadership, Idris coordinated U.S. military support to the opposition, including ammunition, equipment, and anti-aircraft training for fighters in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
He later served as Minister of Defense in the Syrian Interim Government, the governing arm of the SNA, between August 31, 2019, and his resignation on September 1, 2021. He had previously held the same post between 2014 and 2016, before the formal establishment of the SNA.
Idris was born in 1958 in the village of al-Mubarakiyah in western Homs countryside.
Al-Hamadeh Returns to the Air Force
Brigadier General Pilot Hassan al-Hamadeh announced on X on October 8 that he had assumed his new position as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air and Air Defense Forces. The Air Forces are currently commanded by Brigadier General Assem al-Hawari.
Al-Hamadeh defected on June 21, 2012, flying his MiG-21 jet to Jordan during a training mission over Daraa province (southern Syria). He landed at the King Hussein Air Base in Mafraq and immediately requested political asylum, which Jordan granted. He later moved to Turkey and then returned to Syria to join the armed opposition.
He co-founded the Yusuf al-Azma Brigade in Idlib’s countryside in October 2012 and established the 101st Infantry Division in March 2014, which merged into the Northern Division between 2015 and 2016. He later participated in forming the Tajammu al-Quwa coalition.
Al-Hamadeh, born in Idlib in 1967, served as Deputy Minister of Defense in the Syrian Interim Government from 2017 until he was elected Minister of Defense on November 15, 2021.
The Dissolution of the “Syrian National Army”
The SNA has been effectively dissolved since January 29, 2025, following the “Victory Conference” declaration, which announced the disbanding of its factions and their gradual integration into the Ministry of Defense.
Before its dissolution, the SNA operated in northern and eastern Aleppo countryside as well as the towns of Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad, north of al-Hasakah and Raqqa, within the area known as “Operation Peace Spring.” Formed in December 2017 with Turkish support, the SNA consisted of three corps subdivided into multiple brigades under the Interim Government’s Ministry of Defense.
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