Rafiq Shahadah

Rafiq Shahadah (Arabic: رفيق شحادة, born 1956) is a retired Syrian Army major general.

He was head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and the chief of staff of the Syrian Army's operations in Eastern Syria.

[2] Major General Rafiq Shahadah was the most prominent bodyguard of President Hafez al-Assad, up until his death in 2000.

[3] In 2011, Shahadah was an adviser to President Bashar al-Assad on strategic questions and military intelligence.

[10] On 24 August 2011, the European Union sanctioned Shahada and stated that he was the head of military intelligence's branch 293 which is charged with internal affairs in Damascus.