Shocking are the footage published today (11.12.2024) by the rebels in Syriawho set fire to and desecrated the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the father of former President Bashar al-Assad Assadlocated in Latakia.
Gunmen entered the Assad family mausoleum built on the Alawite side of the city in western Syria and then burned and kicked a monument to Hafez al-Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for three decades until his death in 2000, when his son Bashar took over. The latter left the country shortly before rebels seized Damascus on Sunday. Inside the mausoleumsurrounded by a dome decorated with reliefs, men were seen who carried the flag of the Syrian revolution.
The tomb of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez has been torched in his hometown of Qardaha. Opposition fighters and young men can be seen watching it burn. #Syria
Read more: https://t.co/LdmUjjBYU3 pic.twitter.com/CxprRFb5au
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) December 11, 2024
The tomb, atop a hill in this Assad family stronghold, was well guarded. In the mausoleum they have other family members, such as Bashar’s brother Basel, were also buriedwho was to succeed Hafez but was killed in a car accident in 1994.
They burned down the mausoleum of Hafez al Assad, father of the overthrown dictator in Syria https://t.co/oFruJqFmgk pic.twitter.com/PijXobW7XY
— We monitor (@monitoreamos) December 11, 2024
On Sunday (08.12.2024) rebels seized Damascus ten days after the blitzkrieg began, ending half a century of rule by the Assad familywhich comes from the Alawite minority.
The rebel leadership on Tuesday called on “military forces and civilians” off the coast of Syria “not to seize government equipment, weapons or vehicles.” He also warned residents not to go near public buildings or barracks.