Rifaat Assad, known as the 'Butcher of Hama,' uncle of Bashar Assad, has died

Rifaat Assad, the brother of former Syrian President Hafez Assad and uncle of the ousted leader Bashar Assad, died at the age of 88. Critics referred to Rifaat Assad as the 'Butcher of Hama' due to his suppression of opposition protests in the city of Hama in 1982. According to Reuters, Rifaat Assad was in exile in the United Arab Emirates at the time of his death. A former army officer, he helped Hafez Assad seize power in a coup in 1970. During his years in exile, mostly spent in France, he maintained ambitions of returning to power. He returned to Syria in 2021 but fled the country again in 2024 after his nephew Bashar Assad's regime was overthrown. When Hafez Assad died in 2000, Rifaat opposed the transfer of power to Bashar Assad and claimed to be the legitimate successor of his brother, but he failed in the succession crisis and power passed to Bashar. In 2011, coinciding with the spread of unrest in Syria, he re-emerged from abroad and urged Bashar Assad to step down to prevent a civil war. However, he also shifted some responsibility from Bashar, attributing the uprising against his regime to 'a buildup of mistakes.' Over a decade later, Bashar Assad, still in power at that time, allowed his uncle to return and helped him escape from prison in France. Rifaat Assad had been convicted of purchasing properties worth millions of euros by misappropriating Syrian government resources. After Bashar's fall, Rifaat attempted to escape through a Russian airbase but was denied entry and ultimately fled Syria through Lebanon, according to Reuters sources. Rifaat Assad was one of the powerful figures in Syria during his brother Hafez Assad's leadership. He was the commander of the special forces that suppressed the Islamist opposition uprising in Hama in 1982, which was one of the biggest threats to Hafez Assad's regime during his 30 years in power and was brutally suppressed. The three-week crackdown left over 10,000 dead and is often described as a behavioral pattern for Bashar Assad in dealing with rebellions against his regime. In 2022, the Syrian Human Rights Network reported that between 30,000 to 40,000 civilians were killed in Hama. In March 2024, the Swiss Attorney General announced that Rifaat Assad would be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity due to his actions in Hama. According to the Swiss indictment, between 3,000 to 60,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians, died in the Hama crackdown. Rifaat's lawyers stated that he has always denied any involvement in this bloody suppression.