Syria updates: Assad’s father’s tomb torched – DW – 12/12/2024

The mausoleum of Hafez Assad, who ruled Syria for decades before his death and succession by his son Bashar Assad, was stormed and set on fire in his hometown of Qardaha, according to footage verified by reporters.

A vast, elevated structure with intricate architecture and ornamentation, it was located in the Latakia region, the heartland of the Assad’s Alawite community.

Videos showed rebel fighters and young locals watching it burn. 

The elder Assad took power in the second half of the 20th century by participating in multiple coups following Syria’s independence from France.

His elder son, Bassel, was initially being groomed to take over from his father, but he died in a car accident in 1994.

Bashar took power when Hafez died in June of 2000.

After years of frozen conflict between the government forces of Bashar Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for 54 years, Islamist rebels and their allies went on a lighting offensive to capture Aleppo, Homs, and the capital Damascus.

Assad and his family have fled to Russia, where they were granted political asylum. Russia, as well as Iran, were major backers of Assad since the civil war began in 2011.

The rebel group now in charge of Syria’s interim government is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Originally an offshoot of al-Qaida, they have tried to soften their image in recent years and have promised to respect religious minorities. 

Mohammed al-Bashir, who headed the rebels’ “Salvation government” in their northwestern stronghold of Idlib, has been named interim prime minister. He has said he will stay in power during a transition period to last until March 2025.

Since Assad’s ouster, Israel has stepped up its bombing campaign of a region inside Syrian territory on the Israeli border. The territory has been contested by Israel for decades. The Israeli military has denied claims it has pushed further in Syria than the demilitarized buffer zone.

es/rm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)