Rifaat al-Assad, the controversial uncle of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad whose brutal suppression of a 1982 uprising earned him the epithet “butcher of Hama,” has died at age 88, according to multiple sources confirmed on Wednesday.
The former military officer played a pivotal role in helping his brother Hafez al-Assad seize power through a 1970 coup that established decades of authoritarian rule in Syria. Despite spending most of his life in exile, primarily in France, Rifaat consistently maintained presidential ambitions that would repeatedly clash with the political dynasty he helped create.
His relationship with the Syrian leadership remained complex and fraught with tension. When Hafez al-Assad died in 2000, Rifaat openly challenged the succession plan that transferred power to his nephew Bashar, declaring himself the legitimate heir in a ultimately unsuccessful bid for control.
The exiled figure reemerged during Syria’s 2011 uprising, publicly urging his nephew to step down to prevent civil war while simultaneously deflecting blame from Bashar himself, attributing the rebellion to accumulated governance errors rather than personal leadership failures.
In a remarkable turn of events, Bashar al-Assad facilitated his uncle’s return to Syria in 2021, effectively rescuing him from French legal troubles where he had been convicted for acquiring millions in property using misappropriated Syrian state funds. This familial reconciliation proved short-lived when Rifaat was forced to flee again in 2024 following his nephew’s ouster from power.
His final escape attempt involved a rejected entry request at a Russian airbase before ultimately crossing into Lebanon via unconventional means—reportedly carried across a river on the back of a close associate according to sources with direct knowledge of the incident.