Rifaat-al-Assad, the dreaded uncle of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and a central determine behind one of many bloodiest crackdowns within the Center East, has died aged 88.
The previous military officer – branded by critics because the ‘butcher of Hama’ for his function in crushing an Islamist rebellion in 1982 – died on Tuesday within the United Arab Emirates, in response to two sources with information of his passing.
Rifaat was a key architect of the Assad dynasty, serving to his older brother, former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, seize energy in a 1970 coup that ushered in many years of iron-fisted rule.
However his personal ambitions to rule Syria in the end drove him into exile, the place he spent years plotting a comeback whereas amassing huge wealth in Europe.
After Hafez died in 2000, Rifaat objected to the switch of energy to his nephew Bashar, declaring himself the professional successor in what proved to be a toothless problem.
He would later intervene from overseas once more in 2011 as revolt swept Syria, urging Bashar to step down shortly to avert civil warfare, whereas deflecting blame away from him by attributing the revolt to an accumulation of errors.
Greater than a decade later, Bashar – nonetheless in energy on the time – allowed his uncle to return to Syria in 2021, a transfer that helped Rifaat keep away from imprisonment in France, the place he had been discovered responsible of buying tens of millions of euros’ value of property utilizing funds diverted from the Syrian state.
He fled as soon as extra in 2024 following the ouster of Bashar. Rifaat was a key architect of the Assad dynasty, serving to his older brother, former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, seize energy in a 1970 coup that ushered in many years of iron-fisted rule
Rifaat was a key architect of the Assad dynasty, serving to his older brother, former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, seize energy in a 1970 coup that ushered in many years of iron-fisted rule
The devastating three-week 1982 Hama bloodbath left the town in ruins and has lengthy been cited as a blueprint for the brutal ways later utilized by Bashar in the course of the civil warfare
Experiences have emerged of an tried assassination of ex-Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Moscow
In keeping with one supply with direct information of the episode, Rifaat tried to flee by way of a Russian airbase however was denied entry and ultimately crossed into Lebanon, carried over a river on the again of an in depth affiliate.
Born within the village of Qardaha in Syria’s mountainous coastal area – the heartland of the minority Alawite group – Rifaat rose quickly after the 1970 coup, commanding elite forces loyal to him personally.
These forces have been unleashed in 1982 to crush a Muslim Brotherhood rebellion within the metropolis of Hama, one of many gravest threats to Hafez al-Assad’s 30-year rule.
The devastating three-week assault left the town in ruins and has lengthy been cited as a blueprint for the brutal ways later utilized by Bashar in the course of the civil warfare.
The true dying toll stays disputed.
In 2022, the Syrian Community for Human Rights alleged that between 30,000 and 40,000 civilians have been killed.
In March 2024, Switzerland’s Legal professional Basic’s Workplace introduced plans to place Rifaat on trial for warfare crimes and crimes towards humanity over Hama.
His attorneys stated in response that he had at all times denied any involvement within the alleged acts.
The Hama crackdown elevated Rifaat’s standing inside the regime.
In his e-book Asad: The Battle for the Center East, journalist Patrick Seale wrote that victory over the Brotherhood was one of many components that led senior figures to show to Rifaat when Hafez fell significantly unwell in 1983.
He was appointed vice-president the next yr.
However the rivalry between the brothers quickly exploded. Whereas Hafez was nonetheless unwell, Rifaat pushed for sweeping modifications, with posters of him in uniform showing throughout Damascus.
When Hafez recovered, he was ‘extraordinarily displeased’, Seale wrote.
The confrontation peaked in 1984 when Rifaat ordered his forces to grab key factors within the capital, threatening all-out battle.
Hafez in the end talked his youthful brother down, and Rifaat quickly left Syria after the failed coup try.
Pictured: Rifaat Al-Assad (left) pictured along with his older brother, and one-time Syria president, Hafez (proper)
Born within the village of Qardaha in Syria’s mountainous coastal area – the heartland of the minority Alawite group – Rifaat rose quickly after the 1970 coup, commanding elite forces loyal to him personally
Syrian followers cheer for his or her nationwide group beneath portraits of Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad (R) throughout their Asian World Cup qualifying soccer match towards Kuwait on the Abbassin Stadium in Damascus on June 2, 2008
Rifaat was a key architect of the Assad dynasty, serving to his older brother, former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad (pictured), seize energy in a 1970 coup
He went on to reinvent himself as a rich businessman in Europe, settling first in Geneva earlier than transferring to France and Spain.
In later years, he was a well-known sight in Marbella’s Puerto Banus, strolling with an entourage of bodyguards close to his seaside property.
However his fortune more and more attracted scrutiny.
In 2020, a French courtroom convicted him of buying tens of millions of euros’ value of property with cash siphoned from the Syrian state, sentencing him to 4 years in jail.
Belongings value an estimated £87million in France have been seized, together with a £29million property in London. Rifaat repeatedly denied the accusations.
His 2021 return to Syria was not his first since exile – he briefly went again in 1992 to attend his mom’s funeral.
A professional-government newspaper later stated he had returned ‘with a view to stop his imprisonment in France’ and would play no political or social function.
{A photograph} shared on social media in April 2023 confirmed the once-exiled strongman standing amongst a bunch that included a smiling Bashar al-Assad – a fleeting picture of reconciliation on the finish of a protracted and bloody chapter in Syria’s ruling household historical past.
