Sanctions
Supported by independent sources
The European Union’s listing of 28 May 2025 states: “In March 2025, the Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade, under Muhammad Hussein al-Jasim’s command, took part in the violence in the coastal region of Syria, targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community, including by committing arbitrary killings of civilians.” 1
The U.S. Treasury designated him and his brigade in August 2023 for serious human rights abuses in northern Syria, and the United Kingdom added him to its sanctions list in December 2025. 2 3
The March 2025 coastal violence
Supported by independent sources
The UN Commission of Inquiry found reasonable grounds to believe that individual members of the 62nd Division, formerly the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, committed violations during the March 2025 coastal violence. 4
Reuters reported finding the brigade, together with the Hamza Division, at at least eight sites where nearly 700 people were killed. 5
He told Reuters he was in hospital in Turkey when the fighting broke out, denied that his men had any role in the killings, and called the U.S. allegations “fabrications”; Reuters could not confirm where he was during the events. 5
Career since
He was promoted to brigadier general in December 2024. 5 In August 2026 he was named deputy commander of the Central Region Corps; a Defence Ministry source said there had been no dispute, while other sources described the move as reducing his authority. 6 He was succeeded at the head of the 62nd Division by Omar Mohammed Jaftashi (“Mukhtar al-Turki”). 7
