Syria's Rifaat al-Assad, the 'butcher of Hama', dies at 88
1/21/2026 1:29:00 PM
Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad known by critics as the "butcher of Hama" for crushing an Islamist uprising in the city in 1982 before unsuccessfully challenging for power and going into exile, died on Tuesday.
He was 88. He died in the United Arab Emirates, two sources with knowledge of his passing said.
A former army officer who helped Hafez al-Assad seize power in a 1970 coup and establish his iron rule, Rifaat continued to harbour presidential ambitions during years of exile spent mostly in France. He returned to Syria in 2021, before fleeing again in 2024 following the ouster of his nephew, President Bashar al-Assad.
When Hafez died in 2000, Rifaat objected to the power transfer to Bashar and declared himself the legitimate successor in what proved to be an ultimately toothless leadership challenge.
He weighed in from abroad again in 2011 as rebellion swept Syria, urging his nephew to step down quickly to prevent civil war. But he also deflected blame away from Bashar, attributing the revolt against his rule to an accumulation of errors.
More than a decade later, Bashar - still in power at the time - allowed his uncle to return home, helping him escape jail in France where he was found guilty of acquiring millions of euros of property using funds diverted from the Syrian state.
When Bashar fell, Rifaat had tried to escape via a Russian airbase but was denied entry and eventually crossed to Lebanon, carried over a river on the back of a close associate, according to one of the sources, who had direct knowledge of the incident.
He was 88. He died in the United Arab Emirates, two sources with knowledge of his passing said.
A former army officer who helped Hafez al-Assad seize power in a 1970 coup and establish his iron rule, Rifaat continued to harbour presidential ambitions during years of exile spent mostly in France. He returned to Syria in 2021, before fleeing again in 2024 following the ouster of his nephew, President Bashar al-Assad.
When Hafez died in 2000, Rifaat objected to the power transfer to Bashar and declared himself the legitimate successor in what proved to be an ultimately toothless leadership challenge.
He weighed in from abroad again in 2011 as rebellion swept Syria, urging his nephew to step down quickly to prevent civil war. But he also deflected blame away from Bashar, attributing the revolt against his rule to an accumulation of errors.
More than a decade later, Bashar - still in power at the time - allowed his uncle to return home, helping him escape jail in France where he was found guilty of acquiring millions of euros of property using funds diverted from the Syrian state.
When Bashar fell, Rifaat had tried to escape via a Russian airbase but was denied entry and eventually crossed to Lebanon, carried over a river on the back of a close associate, according to one of the sources, who had direct knowledge of the incident.