A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad riddled with bullets, which adorned the municipal building of Hama, after it was defaced following the city’s capture by rebels on Dec. 6, 2024. (Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon, a drug similar to amphetamines.
Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel insurgency in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria’s new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses. The new Syrian security forces have pursued members of the former administration, especially those involved in the feared security branches accused of human rights violations. Human rights groups have called for the establishment of a true transitional justice process to hold them accountable.
detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar
al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023
for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for
trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon, a drug similar to amphetamines.
Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel
insurgency in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family
members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria’s new security forces have been pursuing members of
the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared
security branches accused of rights abuses. The new Syrian security forces have pursued members of the former administration, especially those involved...
