Position:
Minister of Defense (2018 – 2022)
Association:
Assad Regime / Syrian Arab Army
Loyalty:
Bashar al-Assad
Most Notorious Crimes:
- Responsible for military strategy and operations that contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and the forced displacement of millions (2011–2024).
- Oversaw and provided command/logistics for operations by elite formations (notably the 5th, 7th, 9th and 15th Special Forces divisions) implicated in indiscriminate bombardment, sieges, forced displacement, detention, and torture.
- Implicated in operational coordination that enabled chemical attacks and in coordinating Russian air support after 2015.
Profile
Ali Abdullah Ayoub is a career Syrian Army officer with decades of service who rose to the very top of the Syrian military hierarchy and served as Minister of Defense from 2018 to 2022. In September 2011, during the early months of the uprising, he was promoted to the rank of General, and by mid-2012 he assumed senior General Staff responsibilities. These senior staff roles placed him centrally in operational planning, logistics, and force employment during the most intense years of the war against innocent Syrian civilians.
As a senior general and later as Minister of Defense, Ayoub oversaw or exercised command influence over formations repeatedly implicated in serious abuses, including the 5th, 7th, 9th and 15th Special Forces divisions, and was integrally involved in the regime’s shift to large-scale siege, bombardment, and area-denial warfare that produced massive civilian casualties and displacement. After Russia’s direct military intervention in 2015, Ayoub’s General Staff roles included closer operational integration with Russian air assets — planning, deconfliction, and coordination — which materially increased the regime’s capability to retake urban terrain but devastated civilian infrastructure and noncombatants. The Syrian General Staff leadership, including Ayoub, was reported as direct enablers and campaign planning that targeted civilian infrastructure and facilitated unlawful attacks.
Ayoub is publicly connected to the wider set of senior military decisions that enabled chemical-agent attacks in Syria. International organizations and the EU measures identify Ayoub as part of the senior military echelon whose command and logistics responsibilities enabled operations in which chemical agents were used, notably the Eastern Ghouta / Ghouta attacks in August 2013.
After Ayoub became Minister of Defense in 2018, he oversaw major military offensives aimed at regaining rebel-held territory and strengthening Assad’s control, including the:
Eastern Ghouta campaign (2018): A major offensive that ended with the regime retaking the Damascus suburbs after years of siege, involving heavy bombardment and chemical attacks.
Aleppo territory consolidation: Securing and consolidating control over Aleppo and surrounding areas after earlier battles.
Idlib operations (2019–2020): Large-scale offensives in the last major opposition stronghold, with Russian air support, causing massive displacement and civilian casualties.
He was replaced on 28 April 2022 by Ali Mahmoud Abbas in a presidential decree reported by Reuters and state media. Since his replacement, he is believed to have been placed within the former regime’s senior military-political framework but not in the active ministerial role.
Identity
Full Name: Ali Abdullah Ayoub (also spelled Ayub or Ayyoub) ( علي عبد الله أيوب)
Date of Birth: 1952
Place of Birth: Latakia Governorate, Syria
Nationality: Syrian
Career Timeline
1973: Graduated from Syrian Military Academy (Armored Corps).
2000s: Commanded 103rd Brigade, Republican Guard, later First Corps.
2011: Promoted to General, became Deputy Chief of General Staff.
2018-2022: Minister of Defense
Crimes & Responsibilities
As Defense Minister, Ayub exercised command over the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and was directly responsible for systematic war crimes, including:
- Mass Killings & Displacement: Directed large-scale offensives leading to 500,000+ deaths and the displacement of over 13 million Syrians.
- Oversight of Chemical Attacks: Responsible for chemical strikes such as the Eastern Ghouta attack (2013) and subsequent chlorine and sarin attacks, by virtue of his role overseeing army units involved in these operations.
- Atrocities by Special Forces Divisions: Direct command over the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 15th Divisions, notorious for extrajudicial killings, torture, and destruction of civilian areas.
- Coordination with Russia: Played a key role in Russian airstrike campaigns, providing targeting and logistical support during bombardments of civilian infrastructure, hospitals, and schools.
Legal Proceedings & Sanctions
United States
Designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on March 17, 2020, under Executive Order 13894 for obstructing ceasefires and enabling atrocities.
European Union (2018)
Sanctioned under the EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List.
United Kingdom (2011)
Sanctioned for involvement in violent repression.
Canada & Switzerland: Also imposed targeted sanctions, freezing assets and restricting travel.
Current Status/Whereabouts
Since the fall of the regime, there is no verified reporting on his whereabouts.
