Rifaat al-Assad, the younger brother of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad who was once a very powerful figure in the country’s ruling class, died on Tuesday, January 20, at the age of 88, Reuters reported, citing two sources with knowledge of his death. He passed away in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Often described by critics as the “butcher of Hama,” Rifaat was closely associated with the crushing of an Islamist uprising in the central Syrian city in 1982, one of the bloodiest episodes of the Assad era. The assault, carried out by elite forces loyal to him, left large parts of the city in ruins and thousands dead.
A former army officer, Rifaat al-Assad played a key role in helping his elder brother Hafez seize power in a 1970 coup and consolidate decades of authoritarian rule. His influence grew steadily through the 1970s and early 1980s, fuelled by his command over elite military units and his reputation as a hardliner.
Hama assault and rise within the regime
Born in the coastal village of Qardaha, the Assad family’s stronghold and part of the Alawite heartland, Rifaat emerged as one of the most powerful men in Syria after the 1970 coup. His command over the forces that put down the 1982 Muslim Brotherhood-led uprising in Hama cemented his standing within the regime.
The three-week assault devastated the city and became a defining moment of Hafez al-Assad’s rule. Death toll estimates have varied sharply over the years. The Syrian Network for Human Rights has said between 30,000 and 40,000 civilians were killed, while Swiss prosecutors later cited figures ranging from 3,000 to 60,000.
Rifaat’s stature rose further after Hafez fell ill in 1983, when senior regime figures briefly looked to him as a possible successor. He was appointed vice-president in 1984, but his growing ambitions soon brought him into direct conflict with his brother.
Exile and convictions
The rivalry came to a head in 1984, when Rifaat’s forces moved to seize key positions in Damascus, raising fears of a violent showdown. Hafez eventually defused the crisis and Rifaat was forced into exile, ending his political career.
He spent much of the following decades in Europe, mainly in France and Spain, living as a wealthy businessman. His fortune later drew the attention of European authorities. In 2020, a French court convicted him of acquiring millions of euros’ worth of property using funds diverted from the Syrian state, sentencing him to four years in prison and ordering the seizure of assets estimated at around 100 million euros. Rifaat repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
According to Reuters, he was allowed to return to Syria in 2021, a move that helped him avoid imprisonment in France. Pro-government media at the time said he would have no political or public role, though photographs later surfaced showing him alongside exiled president Bashar al-Assad in 2023.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad in 2024, Rifaat fled once again. Reuters cited a source with direct knowledge of the episode as saying that he was denied passage through a Russian airbase and eventually crossed into Lebanon, reportedly being carried across a river by a close associate.
In March 2024, Switzerland said it would put Rifaat on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Hama assault, Reuters reported. His lawyers rejected the allegations, saying he had never been involved in the alleged acts.
Despite decades abroad and repeated attempts to reinsert himself into Syrian politics, Rifaat al-Assad remained a deeply divisive figure.
(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)
