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Internal Security Forces

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Internal Security Forces
Forces de sécurité intérieure
قوى الأمن الداخلي
Qiwa al-Amn al-Dakhili
Logo of the Lebanese ISF.
Logo of the Lebanese ISF.
AbbreviationISF
MottoSecurity for the Nation and Civilians
Agency overview
Formed1860
Employees131,000
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionLebanon
General nature
Specialist jurisdiction
  • Paramilitary law enforcement, counter insurgency, riot control
Operational structure
HeadquartersBeirut
Agency executives
  • Major General Rayed Abdullah, Commander
  • Brigadier General Naim Chammas, Chief of Staff
Notables
People
Website
isf.gov.lb

The Internal Security Forces (Arabic: المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي, romanized: al-Mudiriyya al-'aamma li-Qiwa al-Amn al-Dakhili; French: Forces de Sécurité Intérieure; abbreviated ISF) are the national police and gendarmerie of Lebanon.

Modern police were established in Lebanon in 1861, with the creation of a gendarmerie force.[1] In April 2005, Ashraf Rifi became head of the ISF, replacing Ali Al Hajj.[2] Rifi then started to recruit younger members to become part of Lebanese Intelligence. His term ended in April 2013, and he was replaced by Roger Salem,[3] and Ibrahim Basbouss subsequently. On March 8, 2017, the Lebanese Cabinet appointed Imad Othman as the ISF director general. He took command the following day.[4]

The number of ISF personnel reached 100,000 by 2000 and grew to over 131,000 by 2013. The ISF National Day in Lebanon is on the 9th of June.[5]

History

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Origins and the Mandate 1861-1943

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Lebanese accounts date the force to 9 July 1861, when the "Judiciary Police" was set up in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate under the mutasarrıf Daoud Pasha. It was trained by an English Officer named mason and reportedly numbered 150 officers and 740 men.[6] Sectarian was built into its leadership and recruitment from the outset.[6] A gendarmerie was reorganized on the French model after the creation of Greater Lebanon under the French Mandate in 1920.[7]

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A legislative decree of 1953 defined the gendarmerie. the police and the general inspectorate as Lebanon's security forces. Under President Fuad Chehab, decree 138 of 12 June 1959 created the General Directorate of the ISF within the Ministry of Interion.[6] The Directorate took its present name through legislative decree 54 of 1967.[6] Law 17 of 6 September 1990 and Decree 1157 of 2 May 1991 set the force's current legal framework and structure.[6] The ISF has administrated Lebanon's prison since a law of 1949. A planned transfer to the Minister of Justice had not taken place as of 2012.[6]

Information Branch

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The Information branch was created in 1991 as a small unit within the chief of staff's office. The 1991 decree provided 35 personnel.[6] According to Brigadier General Amine Saliba, a former ISF chief of staff, it expanded markedly after the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2005 and by 2012 had about 1,000 personnel.[6] Naharnet later put its strength at 2,200.[8] Its commander Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, was assassinated in October 2012, and cabinet later debated making the Bureau an independent branch.[8]

Leader changes since 2005

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Ashraf Rifi headed the ISF from April 2005 until he reached the mandatory age of retirement age of 59 on 1 April 2013. The Cabinet's failure to extend his term coincidence with the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.[9] Brigadier General Roger Salem took over as active head on 30 March 2013 and handed over to Brigadier General Ibrahim Basbous, also in acting capacity, on 27 June 2013.[9] Imad Othman took over command in 9 March 2017 and served until 2025.[10] In March 2025 The Cabinet of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam appointed Raed Abdallah in a package of security appointments that also named a new army commander and heads of General Security and State Security.[11]

Recent developments

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In October 2026, the ISF seized several hundred kilograms of explosives, reported to include TNT and C-4, from a vehicle at its check point in Dahr al-Baidar and arrested two men, who were handed over to the Lebanese Army's Military Police for investigation.[12] Judicial and military sources said the men belonged to Hezbollah, which was not confirmed by other security sources or by Hezbollah.[12]

Missions

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Their missions include :

Organization

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The ISF organization includes:[16]

  • The Ministry of the interior
  • Inspector-General
  • Directorate General of Internal Security Forces
    • Staff
    • Territorial Gendarmerie
    • Mobile Gendarmerie
    • Judicial Police
    • Central Administration
    • Beirut Police
    • ISF Institute
    • Social Services
    • Commander of the Security of Embassies and Public Administration

Elite Forces

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Three Special Forces Teams operate in the ISF.

  1. Special Operations Group-Judicial Police.
    It consists of SWAT unit and BRI unit.
  2. Strike Force - Information Department.
  3. Black Panthers - Mobile Forces

Directors

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List of General Directors of ISF:[17]

  • Raed Abdallah, Major General, ISF General Director from 2025
  • Imad Othman, Major General, ISF General Director from 2017 to 2025
  • Ibrahim Basbous, Major General, ISF General Director from 2013 to 2017
  • Ashraf Rifi, Major General, ISF General Director from 2005 to 2013
  • Ali Al Hajj, Major General, ISF General Director from 2004 to 2005
  • Marouan Zein, Major General, ISF General Director from 2001 to 2004
  • Abed El Karim Ibrahim, Major General, ISF General Director from 1998 to 2001
  • Rafic El Hassan, Major General, ISF General Director from 1993 to 1998
  • Mohammad Salim Kobrosly, Major General, ISF General Director from 1990 to 1993
  • Omar Makhzoumi, Major General, ISF General Director from 1987 to 1990
  • Osman Osman, Major General, ISF General Director from 1983 to 1987
  • Hicham El Chaar, Civilian, ISF General Director from 1982 to 1983
  • Ahmad El Hajj, Major General (Army), ISF General Director from 1977 to 1982
  • Hicham El Chaar, Civilian, ISF General Director from 1971 to 1977
  • Mahmoud Hafez, Civilian, ISF General Director from 1970 to 1971
  • Mahmoud El Banna, Civilian, ISF General Director from 1964 to 1970
  • Jamil El Hosami, Leader (Army), ISF General Director from 1962 to 1964
  • Nureddine Rifai, Leader, ISF General Director from 1959 to 1962

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Historical overview". Interior Security Forces (Lebanon). Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  2. ↑ "Lebanese security chiefs replaced". BBC. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "Rifi hands over police helm to Salem". The Daily Star. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "Machnouk oversees Internal Security Forces director-general handover". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. 2017-03-09. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  5. ↑ "قوى الأمن الداخلي تحتفل بعيدها الخمسين بعد المئة | الموقع الرسمي للجيش اللبناني". www.lebarmy.gov.lb. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Saliba, Amine (2012). "The Security Sector in Lebanon: Jurisdiction and Organization" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Liban-gb". www.force-publique.net. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  8. 1 2 "Charbel promotes ISF chief after 'losing hope'". MTV Lebanon. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  9. 1 2 "Basbous appointed head of the Internal Security Forces". LBCIV7. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  10. ↑ "Machnouk oversees Internal Security Forces director-general handover". 2017.
  11. ↑ "Internal Security Forces Official Website - Current General Director". Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  12. 1 2 "ISF seizes hundreds of kilograms of explosives at Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint, arrests two". L'Orient Today. 2026-10-10. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  13. ↑ "The EU helps the Internal Security Forces to strengthen the rule of law in Lebanon [archive]". Enpi-info.eu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Nouveaux radars : Plus de 67.000 contraventions pour excès de vitesse en deux mois - B.B." Lecommercedulevant.com. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "GIGN: Visite d'une délégation de sécurité française au Liban". Gendarmerier.interieur.gouv.fr. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ "Lebanese Internal Security - about". Isf.gov.lb. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
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