The Death of a Feared Syrian Strongman
Rifaat al-Assad, the feared uncle of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and a central architect behind one of the Middle East's most brutal crackdowns, has died at the age of 88. The former army officer, branded by critics as the 'butcher of Hama' for his pivotal role in crushing an Islamist uprising in 1982, passed away on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates, according to two informed sources.
Architect of the Assad Dynasty
Rifaat al-Assad was a key architect of the Assad political dynasty, instrumental in helping his older brother, former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, seize power in a 1970 coup. This military takeover ushered in decades of iron-fisted rule over Syria. Born in the village of Qardaha in Syria's mountainous coastal region – the heartland of the minority Alawite community – Rifaat rose rapidly after the coup, commanding elite forces personally loyal to him.
However, his own ambitions to rule Syria ultimately drove him into a long exile. He spent years plotting a comeback while amassing a vast fortune across Europe. After Hafez died in 2000, Rifaat objected to the transfer of power to his nephew Bashar, declaring himself the legitimate successor in a challenge that ultimately proved toothless.
The Infamous Hama Massacre
The defining and most notorious chapter of Rifaat's career was the 1982 Hama massacre. His elite forces were unleashed to crush a Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city of Hama, which represented one of the gravest threats to Hafez al-Assad's 30-year rule. The devastating three-week assault left the city in ruins.
This operation has long been cited as a blueprint for the brutal tactics later employed by his nephew Bashar during the Syrian civil war. The true death toll remains hotly disputed:
- In 2022, the Syrian Network for Human Rights alleged that between 30,000 and 40,000 civilians were killed.
- Swiss prosecutors later stated that between 3,000 and 60,000 people, the majority civilians, died in the assault.
In March 2024, Switzerland's Attorney General's Office announced plans to put Rifaat on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Hama. His lawyers stated he had always denied any involvement in the alleged acts.
Exile, Wealth, and Failed Ambitions
The Hama crackdown elevated Rifaat's standing within the regime. According to journalist Patrick Seale in his book Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East, victory over the Brotherhood was a factor that led senior figures to turn to Rifaat when Hafez fell seriously ill in 1983. He was appointed vice-president the following year.
However, rivalry between the brothers soon exploded. While Hafez was unwell, Rifaat pushed for sweeping changes, with posters of him in uniform appearing across Damascus. When Hafez recovered, he was reportedly 'extremely displeased'. The confrontation peaked in 1984 when Rifaat ordered his forces to seize key points in the capital, threatening all-out conflict. Hafez ultimately talked his younger brother down, and Rifaat soon left Syria after the failed coup attempt.
He went on to reinvent himself as a wealthy businessman in Europe, settling first in Geneva before moving to France and Spain. In later years, he was a familiar sight in Marbella's Puerto Banus, strolling with an entourage of bodyguards. Yet his fortune attracted intense scrutiny. In 2020, a French court convicted him of acquiring millions of euros' worth of property with money siphoned from the Syrian state, sentencing him to four years in jail. Assets worth an estimated £87 million in France were seized, along with a £29 million property in London. Rifaat repeatedly denied these accusations.
A Tumultuous Final Decade
Rifaat intervened from abroad again in 2011 as rebellion swept Syria, urging Bashar to step down quickly to avert civil war, while deflecting blame away from him by attributing the revolt to an accumulation of errors. More than a decade later, Bashar – still in power at the time – allowed his uncle to return to Syria in 2021. A pro-government newspaper suggested this move helped Rifaat avoid imprisonment in France.
His 2021 return was not his first since exile; he had briefly gone back in 1992 to attend his mother's funeral. A photograph shared on social media in April 2023 showed the once-exiled strongman standing among a group that included a smiling Bashar al-Assad – a fleeting image of reconciliation.
However, Rifaat fled Syria once more in 2024 following the ouster of Bashar. According to one source with direct knowledge, he attempted to escape via a Russian airbase but was denied entry and eventually crossed into Lebanon, carried over a river on the back of a close associate. His death in the UAE marks the end of a long, violent, and controversial chapter in the history of Syria's ruling family.
