JEDDAH: Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s uncle is to be tried in Switzerland for war crimes and crimes against humanity from his time as a military commander in 1982.
Rifaat Assad, 86, has been charged with “ordering homicides, acts of torture, cruel treatment and illegal detentions” in February 1982 when he was in charge of regime troops in the western Syrian city of Hama, Switzerland’s attorney general’s office said on Tuesday.
Assad, a former vice president, was named the “Butcher of Hama” for crushing an insurrection in the city and killing up to 60,000 people, mostly civilians.
He lived in exile, mostly in France, from the mid 1980s, after he was accused of trying to topple his brother, Bashar’s father Hafez Assad, who was president at the time.
He returned to Syria in 2021, escaping jail in France, where he was found guilty of acquiring millions of euros of property using funds diverted from the Syrian state.
Switzerland initiated war crimes proceedings against Assad in December 2013 under the principle of universal jurisdiction and the absence of statutory limitations on war crimes.
The initial complaint was filed by TRIAL International, a rights group that works with victims and pushes Switzerland to prosecute alleged international criminals. “It’s another step for justice for the Syrian people,” TRIAL chief Philip Grant said.
The trial would examine “the responsibility of the highest Syrian officials and shed light on crimes committed by the Assad clan against its own people,” he said.
Assad is unlikely to appear in person, but Swiss law allows for trials in the absence of the accused.
Trial for Syria’s ‘Butcher of Hama’ Rifaat Assad for crimes against humanity in 1982
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Trial for Syria’s ‘Butcher of Hama’ Rifaat Assad for crimes against humanity in 1982
- The case was brought by the advocacy group Trial International under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”
Syrian government and SDF agree to de-escalate after Aleppo violence
- Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement
DAMASCUS: Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to de-escalate on Monday evening in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks that both sides blamed on each other left at least two civilians dead and several wounded.
Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing the defense ministry, said the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fire sources. The SDF said in a statement later that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.
HIGHLIGHTS
• SDF and Syrian government forces blame each other for Aleppo violence
• Turkiye threatens military action if SDF fails integration deadline
• Aleppo schools and offices closed on Tuesday following the violence
The Syrian health ministry said two people were killed and several were wounded in shelling by the SDF on residential neighborhoods in the city. The injuries included two children and two civil defense workers. The violence erupted hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Damascus that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honoring a commitment to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.
Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement.
Integrating the SDF would mend Syria’s deepest remaining fracture, but failing to do so risks an armed clash that could derail the country’s emergence from 14 years of war and potentially draw in Turkiye, which has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists.
Both sides have accused the other of stalling and acting in bad faith. The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main US ally during the war, which left it with control of Daesh prisons and rich oil resources.
SANA, citing the defense ministry, reported earlier that the SDF had launched a sudden attack on security forces and the army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods of Aleppo, resulting in injuries.
The SDF denied this and said the attack was carried out by factions affiliated with the Syrian government. It said those factions were using tanks and artillery against residential neighborhoods in the city.
The defense ministry denied the SDF’s statements, saying the army was responding to sources of fire from Kurdish forces. “We’re hearing the sounds of artillery and mortar shells, and there is a heavy army presence in most areas of Aleppo,” an eyewitness in Aleppo told Reuters earlier on Monday. Another eyewitness said the sound of strikes had been very strong and described the situation as “terrifying.”
Aleppo’s governor announced a temporary suspension of attendance in all public and private schools and universities on Tuesday, as well as government offices within the city center.
