Syrian rebels have desecrated the tomb of ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s father, former Syrian President Hafez al Assad.
Hafez al Assad ruled Syria with an iron fist from 1970 to 2000, solidifying his family’s rule for 54 years until the deposition of his son on Dec. 8, 2024. He cultivated a cult of personality that continued after his death, as seen in a massive mausoleum located in the Assads’ hometown of Qardaha in Latakia Province. Latakia and Tartus were the last two governorates to fall to the rebels, home to the loyalist Alawites.
On Wednesday, the rebels stormed and ransacked the mausoleum, setting fire to Hafez al Assad’s coffin. Syrian fighters posed over the charred remains, flying the new Syrian flag. Video was taken of the burning of the coffin, with scores of fighters seen celebrating.
“We came here to the graves of Hafez, Bassel, and Anisa,” one of the rioters, Tarek Nassif, said, referring to the former president’s eldest son and wife, who were also interned in the mausoleum. “To take a look at these filthy people. Because they oppressed the entire Syrian people,” he added.
Bassel al Assad was his father’s original successor but died in a 1994 car crash. The death of the popular, vigorous military commander prompted Hafez al Assad to recall his shy, reserved son with no political experience from his studies in London to take his place in the succession.
Anisa al Assad, matriarch of the Assad family, died in February 2016 of undisclosed causes.
One video showed the rioters beginning to open up Hafez al Assad’s coffin as it burned.
Though the rebels implied that Anisa and Bassel’s coffins were desecrated as well, only footage of Hafez al Assad’s coffin being burnt was seen.
Other footage showed the rioters standing on top of and mocking the coffins before their burning.
The desecration was met with mixed reactions. Critics pointed to the Islamic prohibition of the desecration of corpses.
A pre-war article from Atlas Obscura mentions that the tomb is always attended by a black-clad honor guard. It’s unknown when the guards departed.
Days before the tomb desecration, rebels toppled the largest statue in Syria, one of Hafez al Assad in Damascus.
Another statue was fired upon with an antiaircraft gun.
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Despite Hafez al Assad’s negative current perception, with scrutiny revolving around his brutal crushing of the 1982 Hama uprising and cultivation of his cult of personality, the dictator was relatively well-regarded upon his death in 2000. Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Libya, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Kuwait, and Qatar declared days of mourning upon his death.
Then-President Bill Clinton offered his condolences to the Syrian people upon his death, saying he was “saddened” by the news and that he “always respected him,” whatever their differences. Then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright led the U.S. delegation to Damascus to attend his funeral.
