Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad | |
|---|---|
بشار الأسد | |
_02_(cropped).jpg) Assad in 2018 | |
| 19th President of Syria | |
| Assumed office 17 July 2000 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Vice President | |
| Preceded by |
|
| General Secretary of the National Council of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | |
| Assumed office 18 May 2017 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Hafez al-Assad |
| General Secretary of the Central Command of the Syrian Regional Branch | |
| Assumed office 24 June 2000 | |
| Deputy |
|
| Preceded by | Hafez al-Assad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 September 1965 Damascus, Syria |
| Political party | Syrian Ba'ath Party |
| Other political affiliations | National Progressive Front |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | al-Assad family |
| Children |
|
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | Damascus University |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Syria |
| Branch/service | Syrian Armed Forces |
| Years of service | 1988–present |
| Rank | Field marshal |
| Unit | Republican Guard (until 2000) |
| Commands | Syrian Armed Forces |
| Battles/wars | Syrian civil war |
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
 |
|---|
|
|
.svg){kind=small}
| Part of a series on |
| Ba'athism |
|---|
 |
Bashar al-Assad[a] (born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician and dictator who has been the 19th and current president of Syria since 2000.[1] In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is a son of Hafez al-Assad, who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000.
Born and raised in Damascus, Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988 and began to work as a doctor in the Syrian Army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, specialising in ophthalmology. In 1994, after his elder brother Bassel al-Assad died in a car accident, Assad was recalled to Syria to take over Bassel's role as heir apparent. Assad entered the military academy, taking charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998. On 17 July 2000, Assad became president, succeeding his father, who died on 10 June 2000. A series of crackdowns in 2001–02 ended the Damascus Spring, a period of cultural and political activism marked by calls for transparency and democracy.
Although Assad inherited the power structures and personality cult nurtured by his father, he lacked the loyalty received by his father, which led to rising discontent against his rule. As a result, many members of the Old Guard resigned or were purged; and the inner-circle were replaced by staunch loyalists from Alawite clans. Assad's early economic liberalisation programs worsened inequalities and centralized the socio-political power of the loyalist Damascene elite of the Assad family; alienating the Syrian rural population, urban working classes, businessmen, industrialists and people from once-traditional Ba'ath strongholds. The Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in February 2005, triggered by the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, forced Assad to end the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.
Academics and analysts have characterized Assad's presidency as a highly personalist dictatorship,[b] which governs Syria as a totalitarian police state,[c] and has been characterised by numerous human rights violations and severe repression. While the Assad government describes itself as secular, various political scientists and observers note that his regime exploits sectarian tensions in the country. The first decade in power was marked by intense censorship, summary executions, forced disappearances, discrimination of ethnic minorities and extensive surveillance by the Ba'athist secret police.
In 2011, the United States, European Union, and majority of the Arab League called for Assad to resign following the crackdown on Arab Spring protesters during the events of the Syrian revolution, which led to the Syrian civil war. The civil war has killed around 580,000 people, of which a minimum of 306,000 deaths are non-combatant; according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, pro-Assad forces caused more than 90% of those civilian deaths.[8] The Assad government has perpetrated numerous war crimes during the course of the Syrian civil war,[d] and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces has also carried out several attacks with chemical weapons.[14] The deadliest chemical attack was a sarin gas strike in Ghouta on 21 August 2013, which killed between 281 to 1,729 people.
In December 2013, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated that findings from an inquiry by the UN implicated Assad in war crimes. Investigations by the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism and OPCW-UN IIT concluded that the Assad government was responsible for the 2017 Khan Shaykhun sarin attack and 2018 Douma chemical attack respectively.[e] In June 2014, the American Syrian Accountability Project included Assad on a list of war crimes indictments of government officials and sent it to the International Criminal Court. In 2023, Canada and the Netherlands filed a joint lawsuit at the International Court of Justice accusing the Assad government of infringing UN Convention Against Torture.[f] On 15 November 2023, France issued an arrest warrant against Assad over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in Syria.[15] Assad has categorically denied the allegations of these charges and has accused foreign countries, especially the United States, of attempting regime change.[16][17]
Early life, family and education
Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, as the second son and third child of Anisa Makhlouf and Hafez al-Assad.[18] "Al-Assad" in Arabic means "the lion". Assad's paternal grandfather, Ali Sulayman al-Assad, had managed to change his status from peasant to minor notable and, to reflect this, in 1927 he had changed the family name from "Wahsh" (meaning "Savage") to "Al-Assad".[19]
Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, was born to an impoverished rural family of Alawite background and rose through the Ba'ath Party ranks to take control of the Syrian branch of the Party in the Corrective Movement, culminating in his rise to the Syrian presidency.[20] Hafez promoted his supporters within the Ba'ath Party, many of whom were also of Alawite background.[18][21] After the revolution, Alawite strongmen were installed while Sunnis, Druze, and Ismailis were removed from the army and Ba'ath party.[22] Hafez al-Assad's 30-year military rule witnessed the transformation of Syria into a dynastic dictatorship. The new political system was led by the Ba'ath party elites dominated by the Alawites, who were fervently loyal to the Assad family and controlled the military, security forces and secret police.[23][24]
The younger Assad had five siblings, three of whom are deceased. A sister named Bushra died in infancy.[25] Assad's youngest brother, Majd, was not a public figure and little is known about him other than he was intellectually disabled,[26] and died in 2009 after a "long illness".[27]
Unlike his brothers Bassel and Maher, and second sister, also named Bushra, Bashar was quiet, reserved and lacked interest in politics or the military.[28][26][29] The Assad children reportedly rarely saw their father,[30] and Bashar later stated that he only entered his father's office once while he was president.[31] He was described as "soft-spoken",[32] and according to a university friend, he was timid, avoided eye contact and spoke in a low voice.[33]
Assad received his primary and secondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus.[28] In 1982, he graduated from high school and then studied medicine at Damascus University.[34]
Medical career and rise to power
In 1988, Assad graduated from medical school and began working as an army doctor at the Tishrin Military Hospital on the outskirts of Damascus.[35][36] Four years later, he settled in London to start postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital.[37] He was described as a "geeky I.T. guy" during his time in London.[38] Bashar had few political aspirations,[39] and his father had been grooming Bashar's older brother Bassel as the future president.[40] However, he died in a car accident in 1994 and Bashar was recalled to the Syrian Army shortly thereafter. State propaganda soon began elevating Bashar's public imagery as "the hope of the masses" to prepare him as the next patriarch in charge of Syria, to continue the rule of the Assad dynasty.[41][42]
Soon after the death of Bassel, Hafez al-Assad decided to make Bashar the new heir apparent.[43] Over the next six and a half years, until his death in 2000, Hafez prepared Bashar for taking over power. General Bahjat Suleiman, an officer in the Defense Companies, was entrusted with overseeing preparations for a smooth transition,[44][30] which were made on three levels. First, support was built up for Bashar in the military and security apparatus. Second, Bashar's image was established with the public. And lastly, Bashar was familiarised with the mechanisms of running the country.[45]
To establish his credentials in the military, Bashar entered the military academy at Homs in 1994 and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel of the elite Syrian Republican Guard in January 1999.[35][46][47] To establish a power base for Bashar in the military, old divisional commanders were pushed into retirement, and new, young, Alawite officers with loyalties to him took their place.[48]
In 1998, Bashar took charge of Syria's Lebanon file, which had since the 1970s been handled by Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, who had until then been a potential contender for president.[48] By taking charge of Syrian affairs in Lebanon, Bashar was able to push Khaddam aside and establish his own power base in Lebanon.[49] In the same year, after minor consultation with Lebanese politicians, Bashar installed Emile Lahoud, a loyal ally of his, as the President of Lebanon and pushed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri aside, by not placing his political weight behind his nomination as prime minister.[50] To further weaken the old Syrian order in Lebanon, Bashar replaced the long-serving de facto Syrian High Commissioner of Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, with Rustum Ghazaleh.[51]
Parallel to his military career, Bashar was engaged in public affairs. He was granted wide powers and became head of the bureau to receive complaints and appeals of citizens, and led a campaign against corruption. As a result of this campaign, many of Bashar's potential rivals for president were put on trial for corruption.[35] Bashar also became the President of the Syrian Computer Society and helped to introduce the internet in Syria, which aided his image as a moderniser and reformer. Ba'athist loyalists in the party, military and the Alawite sect were supportive of Bashar al-Assad, enabling him to become his father's successor.[52]
Presidency
Before civil war: 2000–2011
After the death of Hafez al-Assad on 10 June 2000, the Constitution of Syria was amended. The minimum age requirement for the presidency was lowered from 40 to 34, which was Bashar's age at the time.[53] Assad contested as the only candidate and subsequently confirmed president on 10 July 2000, with 97.29% support for his leadership.[54][55][56] In line with his role as President of Syria, he was also appointed the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party.[52] A series of state elections have since been held regularly every seven years which Assad won with overwhelming majority of votes. The elections are unanimously regarded by independent observers as a sham process and boycotted by the opposition.[g][h] The last two elections - held in 2014 and 2021 - were conducted only in areas controlled by the Syrian government during the country's ongoing civil war and condemned by the United Nations.[66][67][68]
Damascus Spring
Immediately after he took office, a reform movement known as Damascus Spring led by writers, intellectuals, dissidents, cultural activists, etc. made cautious advances, which led to the shut down of Mezzeh prison and the declaration of a wide-ranging amnesty releasing hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood affiliated political prisoners.[69] However, security crackdowns commenced again within the year, turning it into the Damascus Winter.[70][71] Hundreds of intellectuals were arrested, targeted, exiled or sent to prison and the state of emergency was continued. The early concessions were rolled back to tighten authoritarian control, censorship was increased and the Damascus Spring movement was banned under the pretext of "national unity and stability". The regime's policy of a "social market economy" became a symbol of corruption, as Assad loyalists became its sole beneficiaries.[52][72][73][74] Several discussion forums were shut down and many intellectuals were abducted by the Mukhabarat, tortured and killed. Many analysts believe that initial promises of opening up were part of a government strategy to find Syrians who were not supportive of the new leadership.[71]
During a state visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Syria in October 2001, Bashar publicly condemned the United States invasion of Afghanistan in a joint press conference, stating that "[w]e cannot accept what we see every day on our television screens - the killing of innocent civilians. There are hundreds dying every day." Assad also praised Palestinian militant groups as "freedom fighters" and criticised Israel and the Western world during the conference. British officials subsequently described Assad's political views as being more conciliatory in private, claiming that he criticized the September 11 attacks and accepted the legitimacy of the State of Israel.[75]
Following the September 11 attacks and during the early stages of the US-led war on terror, "Syria had emerged as one of the CIA’s most effective intelligence allies in the fight against al-Qaeda,"[76] with "the quality and quantity of information from Syria [having] exceeded the Agency’s expectations."[76] Syria closely cooperated with the CIA's detention and interrogation program of people deemed "illegal enemy combatants"; Syrian prisons were a major site of extraordinary rendition by the CIA of alleged al-Qaeda members where they were tortured by Syrian interrogators on behalf of the CIA.[77][78][79] According to a 2013 report by the Open Society Foundations, Syria was one of the "most common destinations for rendered suspects" under the CIA's program.[80]
Killing of Rafic Hariri and Cedar Revolution
"It will be Lahoud.. opposing him is tantamount to opposing Assad himself.. I will break Lebanon over your head and over Walid Jumblatt's head. So you had better return to Beirut and arrange the matter on that basis."
On 14 February 2005, Rafic Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon, was assassinated in a massive truck-bomb explosion in Beirut, killing 22 people. The Christian Science Monitor reported that "Syria was widely blamed for Hariri's murder. In the months leading to the assassination, relations between Hariri and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad plummeted amid an atmosphere of threats and intimidation."[82] Bashar promoted his brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, a key figure suspected of orchestrating the terrorist attack, as the chief of Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate immediately after Hariri's death.[83]
The killings caused massive uproar, triggering an intifada in Lebanon and hundreds of thousands of protestors poured on the streets to demand total withdrawal of Syrian military forces. After mounting international pressure that called Syria to implement the UNSC Resolution 1559, Bashar al-Assad declared on 5 March that he would order the departure of Syrian soldiers. On 14 March 2005, more than a million Lebanese protestors - Muslims, Christians, and Druze - demonstrated in Beirut, marking the monthly anniversary of Hariri's murder. UN Resolution 1595, adopted on 7 April, sent an international commission to investigate the assassination of Hariri. By 5 May 2005, United Nations had officially confirmed the total departure of all Syrian soldiers, ending the 29-year old military occupation. The uprisings that occurred in these months came to be known as Lebanon's "independence intifada" or the "Cedar Revolution".[84]
UN investigation commission's report published on 20 October 2005 revealed that high-ranking members of Syrian intelligence and Assad family had directly supervised the killing.[85][86][87] The BBC reported in December 2005 that "Damascus has strongly denied involvement in the car bomb which killed Hariri in February".[88]
On 27 May 2007, Assad was approved for another seven-year term in a referendum on his presidency, with 97.6% of the votes supporting his continued leadership.[89][90][91] Opposition parties were not allowed in the country and Assad was the only candidate in the referendum.[56] Syria's opposition parties under the umbrella of Damascus Declaration denounced the elections as illegitimate and part of the regime's strategy to sustain the "totalitarian system".[92][93] Elections in Syria are officially designated as the event of "renewing the pledge of allegiance" to the Assads and voting is enforced as a compulsory duty for every citizen. Announcement of the results are followed by pro-government rallies conducted across the country extolling the regime, wherein citizens declare their "devotion" to the President and celebrate "the virtues" of the Assad dynasty.[94][95][96]
Syria began developing a covert nuclear weapons programme with assistance of North Korea during the 2000s, but its suspected nuclear reactor was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force during Operation Outside the Box in September 2007.[97][98][99]
During the Syrian civil war
2011–2015
Protests in Syria began on 26 January 2011 following the Arab Spring protests that called for political reforms and the reinstatement of civil rights, as well as an end to the state of emergency which had been in place since 1963.[100] One attempt at a "day of rage" was set for 4–5 February, though it ended uneventfully.[101] Protests on 18–19 March were the largest to take place in Syria for decades, and the Syrian authority responded with violence against its protesting citizens.[102] In his first public response to the protests delivered on 30 March 2011, Assad blamed the unrest on "conspiracies" and accused the Syrian opposition and protestors of seditious "fitna", toeing the party-line of framing the Ba'athist state as the victim of an international plot. He also derided the Arab Spring movement, and described those participating in the protests as "germs" and fifth-columnists.[103][104][105]
"Throughout the speech, al-Assad remained faithful to the basic ideological line of Syrian Baathism: the binary opposition of a devilishly determined, conspiring ‘outside’ bent on hurting a heroically defending and essentially good ‘inside’... consistent with Baathist dualism, [the speech] makes the sparing, if not grudging, mention of supposedly minor dissent in this ‘inside’. This dissent loses its political meaning, or moral justification, acquiring ‘othering’ essence when the president places it in the dismissive context of the ‘fitna’... Following this hard-line speech, the protesters’ demands moved from reforming to overthrowing the regime."
The U.S. imposed limited sanctions against the Assad government in April 2011, followed by Barack Obama's executive order as of 18 May 2011 targeting Bashar Assad specifically and six other senior officials.[107][108][109] On 23 May 2011, the EU foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Brussels to add Assad and nine other officials to a list affected by travel bans and asset freezes.[110] On 24 May 2011, Canada imposed sanctions on Syrian leaders, including Assad.[111]
On 20 June, in response to the demands of protesters and international pressure, Assad promised a national dialogue involving movement toward reform, new parliamentary elections, and greater freedoms. He also urged refugees to return home from Turkey, while assuring them amnesty and blaming all unrest on a small number of saboteurs.[112]
In July 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Assad had "lost legitimacy" as president.[108] On 18 August 2011, Barack Obama issued a written statement that urged Assad to "step aside".[113][114][115] In August, the cartoonist Ali Farzat, a critic of Assad's government, was attacked. Relatives of the humourist told media outlets that the attackers threatened to break Farzat's bones as a warning for him to stop drawing cartoons of government officials, particularly Assad. Farzat was hospitalised with fractures in both hands and blunt force trauma to the head.[116][117]
Since October 2011, Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, repeatedly vetoed Western-sponsored draft resolutions in the UN Security Council that would have left open the possibility of UN sanctions, or even military intervention, against the Assad government.[118][119][120]
By the end of January 2012, it was reported by Reuters that over 5,000 civilians and protesters (including armed militants) had been killed by the Syrian army, security agents and militia (Shabiha), while 1,100 people had been killed by "terrorist armed forces".[121]
On 10 January 2012, Assad gave a speech in which he maintained the uprising was engineered by foreign countries and proclaimed that "victory [was] near". He also said that the Arab League, by suspending Syria, revealed that it was no longer Arab. However, Assad also said the country would not "close doors" to an Arab-brokered solution if "national sovereignty" was respected. He also said a referendum on a new constitution could be held in March.[122]
On 27 February 2012, Syria claimed that a proposal that a new constitution be drafted received 90% support during the relevant referendum. The referendum introduced a fourteen-year cumulative term limit for the president of Syria. The referendum was pronounced meaningless by foreign nations including the U.S. and Turkey; the EU announced fresh sanctions against key regime figures.[123] In July 2012, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced Western powers for what he said amounted to blackmail thus provoking a civil war in Syria.[124] On 15 July 2012, the International Committee of the Red Cross declared Syria to be in a state of civil war,[125] as the nationwide death toll for all sides was reported to have neared 20,000.[126]
On 6 January 2013, Assad, in his first major speech since June, said that the conflict in his country was due to "enemies" outside of Syria who would "go to Hell" and that they would "be taught a lesson". However, he said that he was still open to a political solution saying that failed attempts at a solution "does not mean we are not interested in a political solution."[127][128] In July 2014, Assad renewed his third term of presidency after voting process conducted in pro-regime territories which were boycotted by the opposition and condemned by the United Nations.[66][67][68] According to Joshua Landis: "He's (Assad) going to say: 'I am the state, I am Syria, and if the West wants access to Syrians, they have to come through me.'"[67]
After the fall of four military bases in September 2014,[129] which were the last government footholds in the Raqqa Governorate, Assad received significant criticism from his Alawite base of support.[130] This included remarks made by Douraid al-Assad, cousin of Bashar al-Assad, demanding the resignation of the Syrian Defence Minister, Fahd Jassem al-Freij, following the massacre by the Islamic State of hundreds of government troops captured after the IS victory at Tabqa Airbase.[131] This was shortly followed by Alawite protests in Homs demanding the resignation of the governor,[132] and the dismissal of Assad's cousin Hafez Makhlouf from his security position leading to his subsequent exile to Belarus.[133] Growing resentment towards Assad among Alawites was fuelled by the disproportionate number of soldiers killed in fighting hailing from Alawite areas,[134] a sense that the Assad regime has abandoned them,[135] as well as the failing economic situation.[136] Figures close to Assad began voicing concerns regarding the likelihood of its survival, with one saying in late 2014; "I don't see the current situation as sustainable ... I think Damascus will collapse at some point."[129]
In 2015, several members of the Assad family died in Latakia under unclear circumstances.[137] On 14 March, an influential cousin of Assad and founder of the shabiha, Mohammed Toufic al-Assad, was assassinated with five bullets to the head in a dispute over influence in Qardaha—the ancestral home of the Assad family.[138] In April 2015, Assad ordered the arrest of his cousin Munther al-Assad in Alzirah, Latakia.[139] It remains unclear whether the arrest was due to actual crimes.[140]
After a string of government defeats in northern and southern Syria, analysts noted growing government instability coupled with continued waning support for the Assad government among its core Alawite base of support,[141] and that there were increasing reports of Assad relatives, Alawites, and businessmen fleeing Damascus for Latakia and foreign countries.[142][143] Intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk was placed under house arrest sometime in April and stood accused of plotting with Assad's exiled uncle Rifaat al-Assad to replace Bashar as president.[144] Further high-profile deaths included the commanders of the Fourth Armoured Division, the Belli military airbase, the army's special forces and of the First Armoured Division, with an errant air strike during the Palmyra offensive killing two officers who were reportedly related to Assad.[145]
Since Russian intervention 2015–present
.jpg)
.jpg)
On 4 September 2015, when prospects of Assad's survival looked bleak, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was providing the Assad government with sufficiently "serious" help: with both logistical and military support.[146][147][148] Shortly after the start of direct military intervention by Russia on 30 September 2015 at the formal request of the Syrian government, Putin stated the military operation had been thoroughly prepared in advance and defined Russia's goal in Syria as "stabilising the legitimate power in Syria and creating the conditions for political compromise".[149] Putin's intervention saved the Assad regime at a time when it was on the verge of a looming collapse. It also enabled Moscow to achieve its key geo-strategic objectives such as total control of Syrian airspace, naval bases that granted permanent martial reach across the Eastern Mediterranean and easier access to intervene in Libya.[148]
In November 2015, Assad reiterated that a diplomatic process to bring the country's civil war to an end could not begin while it was occupied by "terrorists", although it was considered by BBC News to be unclear whether he meant only ISIL or Western-supported rebels as well.[150] On 22 November, Assad said that within two months of its air campaign Russia had achieved more in its fight against ISIL than the U.S.-led coalition had achieved in a year.[151] In an interview with Czech Television on 1 December, he said that the leaders who demanded his resignation were of no interest to him, as nobody takes them seriously because they are "shallow" and controlled by the United States.[152][153] At the end of December 2015, senior U.S. officials privately admitted that Russia had achieved its central goal of stabilising Syria and, with the expenses relatively low, could sustain the operation at this level for years to come.[154]
In December 2015, Putin stated that Russia was supporting Assad's forces and was ready to back anti-Assad rebels in a joint fight against IS.[155]
On 22 January 2016, the Financial Times, citing anonymous "senior western intelligence officials", claimed that Russian general Igor Sergun, the director of GRU, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, had shortly before his sudden death on 3 January 2016 been sent to Damascus with a message from Vladimir Putin asking that President Assad step aside.[156] The Financial Times' report was denied by Putin's spokesman.[157]
It was reported in December 2016 that Assad's forces had retaken half of rebel-held Aleppo, ending a 6-year stalemate in the city.[158][159] On 15 December, as it was reported government forces were on the brink of retaking all of Aleppo—a "turning point" in the civil war, Assad celebrated the "liberation" of the city, and stated, "History is being written by every Syrian citizen."[160]
After the election of Donald Trump, the priority of the U.S. concerning Assad was unlike the priority of the Obama administration, and in March 2017, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley stated the U.S. was no longer focused on "getting Assad out",[161] but this position changed in the wake of the 2017 Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.[162] Following the missile strikes on a Syrian airbase on the orders of President Trump, Assad's spokesperson described the U.S.' behaviour as "unjust and arrogant aggression" and stated that the missile strikes "do not change the deep policies" of the Syrian government.[163] President Assad also told the Agence France-Presse that Syria's military had given up all its chemical weapons in 2013, and would not have used them if they still retained any, and stated that the chemical attack was a "100 percent fabrication" used to justify a U.S. airstrike.[164] In June 2017, Russian President Putin said "Assad didn't use the [chemical weapons]" and that the chemical attack was "done by people who wanted to blame him for that."[165] UN and international chemical weapons inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found the attack was the work of the Assad regime.[166]
On 7 November 2017, the Syrian government announced that it had signed the Paris Climate Agreement.[167] In May 2018, it recognized the independence of Russian-occupied separatist republics of Abhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, leading to backlash from the European Union, United States, Canada and other countries.[168][169][170] On 30 August 2020, the First Hussein Arnous government was formed, which included a new Council of Ministers.[171]
In the 2021 presidential elections held on 26 May, Assad secured his fourth 7-year tenure; by winning 95.2% of the eligible votes. The elections were boycotted by the opposition and SDF; while the refugees and internally displaced citizens were disqualified to vote; enabling only 38% of Syrians to participate in the process. Independent international observers as well as representatives of Western countries described the elections as a farce. United Nations condemned the elections for directly violating Resolution 2254; and announced that it has "no mandate".[172][173][174][175][176]
On 10 August 2021, the Second Hussein Arnous government was formed.[177] Under Assad, Syria became a strong supporter of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and was one of the five countries that opposed the UN General Assembly resolution denouncing the invasion, which called upon Russia to pull back its troops. Three days prior to the invasion, Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was dispatched to Moscow to affirm Syria's recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk separatist republics. A day after the invasion, Bashar al-Assad praised the invasion as "a correction of history and a restoration of balance in the global order after the fall of the Soviet Union" in a phone call with Vladimir Putin.[178][179][180] Syria became the first country after Russia to officially recognize the "independence and sovereignty" of the two breakaway regions in June 2022.[181][182][183]
On the 12th anniversary of beginning of the protests of Syrian Revolution, Bashar al-Assad held a meeting with Vladimir Putin during an official visit to Russia. In a televised broadcast with Putin, Assad defended Russia's "special military operation" as a war against "neo-Nazis and old Nazis" of Ukraine.[184][185] He recognised the Russian annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts and ratified the new Russian borders, claiming that the territories were "historically Russian". Assad also urged Russia to expand its military presence in Syria by establishing new bases and deploying more boots on the ground, making its military role permanent.[i]
In March 2023, he visited the United Arab Emirates and met with UAE's President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.[191] In May 2023, he attended the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he was welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.[192] In September 2023, Assad attended the Asian Games opening ceremony in Hangzhou and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.[193] They announced the establishment of a China–Syria strategic partnership.[194]
Controversies
Corruption
At the onset of the Syrian revolution, corruption in Syria was endemic, and the country was ranked 129th in the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index.[195] Since the 1970s, Syria's economy has been dominated by the patronage networks of Ba'ath party elites and Alawite loyalists of the Assad family, who established control over Syria's public sectors based on kinship and nepotism. The pervasive nature of corruption had been a source of controversy within the Ba'ath party circles and the wider public; as early as the 1980s.[196]
Bashar al-Assad's economic liberalization programme during the 2000s became a symbol of corruption and nepotism, as the beneficiaries of the scheme were Alawite loyalists who seized much of the privatized sectors and business assets. This alienated the government from the vast majority of the Syrian public, particularly rural Syrians and urban working classes, who widely loathed the ensuing economic disparities, which became overtly visible.[23][72] Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf was the regime's most favored oligarch during this period, marked by the institutionalization of corruption, handicapping of small businesses and casting down private entrepreneurship.[197] The persistence of corruption, sectarian bias towards Alawites, nepotism and widespread bribery that existed in party, bureaucracy and military led to popular anger that resulted in the eruption of the 2011 Syrian Revolution. The protests were the most fierce in working-class neighbourhoods, which had long bore the brunt of the regime's exploitation policies that privileged its own loyalists.[198][199]
According to ABC News, as a result of the Syrian civil war, "government-controlled Syria is truncated in size, battered and impoverished."[200] Economic sanctions (the Syria Accountability Act) were applied long before the Syrian civil war by the U.S. and were joined by the EU at the outbreak of the civil war, causing disintegration of the Syrian economy.[201] These sanctions were reinforced in October 2014 by the EU and U.S.[202][203] Industry in parts of the country that are still held by the government is heavily state-controlled, with economic liberalisation being reversed during the current conflict.[204] The London School of Economics has stated that as a result of the Syrian civil war, a war economy has developed in Syria.[205] A 2014 European Council on Foreign Relations report also stated that a war economy has formed:
Three years into a conflict that is estimated to have killed at least 140,000 people from both sides, much of the Syrian economy lies in ruins. As the violence has expanded and sanctions have been imposed, assets and infrastructure have been destroyed, economic output has fallen, and investors have fled the country. Unemployment now exceeds 50 percent and half of the population lives below the poverty line ... against this backdrop, a war economy is emerging that is creating significant new economic networks and business activities that feed off the violence, chaos, and lawlessness gripping the country. This war economy – to which Western sanctions have inadvertently contributed – is creating incentives for some Syrians to prolong the conflict and making it harder to end it.[206]
A UN commissioned report by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research states that two-thirds of the Syrian population now lives in "extreme poverty".[207] Unemployment stands at 50 percent.[208] In October 2014, a $50 million mall opened in Tartus which provoked criticism from government supporters and was seen as part of an Assad government policy of attempting to project a sense of normalcy throughout the civil war.[209] A government policy to give preference to families of slain soldiers for government jobs was cancelled after it caused an uproar[134] while rising accusations of corruption caused protests.[136] In December 2014, the EU banned sales of jet fuel to the Assad government, forcing the government to buy more expensive uninsured jet fuel shipments in the future.[210]
Taking advantage of the increased role of the state as a result of the civil war, Bashar and his wife Asma have begun annexing Syria's economic assets from their loyalists, seeking to displace the old business elites and monopolize their direct control of the economy. Maher al-Assad, the brother of Bashar, has also become wealthy by overseeing the operations of Syria's state-sponsored captagon drug industry and seizing much of the spoils of war. The ruling couple currently owns vast swathes of Syria's shipping, real estate, telecommunications and banking sectors.[211][212] Significant changes have been happening to Syrian economy since the government's confiscation campaigns launched in 2019, which involved major economic assets being transferred to the Presidential couple to project their power and influence. Particularly noteworthy dynamic has been the rise of Asma al-Assad, who heads Syria's clandestine economic council and is thought to have become "a central funnel of economic power in Syria". Through her Syria Trust NGO, the backbone of her financial network, Asma vets the foreign aid coming to Syria; since the government authorizes UN organizations only if it works under state agencies.[213]
Corruption has been rising sporadically in recent years, with Syria being considered the most corrupt country in the Arab World.[214][215] As of 2022, Syria is the ranked second worst globally in the Corruption Perceptions Index.[216]
Sectarianism
Hafez al-Assad's government was widely counted amongst the most repressive Arab dictatorships of the 20th century. As Bashar inherited his father's mantle, he sought to implement "authoritarian upgrading" by purging the Old Guard and staffing party and military with loyalist Alawite officers, further entrenching the sectarianism within the system.[217][218] While officially the Ba'athist government adheres to a strict secularist doctrine, in practice it has implemented sectarian engineering policies in the society to suppress dissent and monopolize its absolute power.[219]
"During Hafez-al-Assad's reign, he resorted to emphasising the sectarian identities that the previous Ba'ath Party rejected; believing the only way to ensure stability was through building a trusted security force... Hafez pursued a strategy to “make the Alawite community a loyal monolith while keeping Syria's Sunni majority divided”. Yet Syria became a police state, enforcing stability through threat of brute force repression... Bashar had already followed in his father's footsteps, carefully manoeuvring his most loyal allies into the military-security apparatus, government ministries and the Ba’ath party."
The regime has attempted to portray itself to the outside world as "the protector of minorities" and instills the fear of the majority rule in the society to mobilize loyalists from minorities.[221] Assad loyalist figures like Michel Samaha have advocated sectarian mobilization to defend the regime from what he labelled as the “sea of Sunnis.” Assad regime has unleashed sectarian violence through private Alawite militias like the Shabiha, particularly in Sunni areas. Alawite religious iconography and communal sentiments are common themes used by Alawite warrior-shaykhs who lead the Alawite militias; as justification to commit massacres, abductions and torture in opposition strongholds.[222] Various development policies adopted by the regime had followed a sectarian pattern. An urbanization scheme implemented by the government in the city of Homs led to expulsions of thousands of Sunni residents during the 2000s, while Alawite majority areas were left intact.[223]
Even as Syrian Ba'athism absorbed diverse communal identities into the homogenous unifying discourse of the state; socio-political power became monopolized by Alawite loyalists. Despite officially adhering to non-confessionalism, Syrian Armed Forces have also been institutionally sectarianized. While the conscripts and lower-ranks are overwhelmingly non-Alawite, the higher ranks are packed by Alawite loyalists who effectively control the logistics and security policy. Elite units of the Syrian military such as the Tiger Forces, Republican Guard, 4th Armoured Division, etc. regarded by the government as crucial for its survival; are composed mostly of Alawites. Sunni officers are under constant surveillance by the secret police, with most of them being assigned with Alawite assistants who monitor their movements. Pro-regime paramilitary groups such as the National Defense Force are also organized around sectarian loyalty to the Ba'athist government. During the Syrian Revolution uprisings, the Ba'athist government deployed a securitization strategy that depended on sectarian mobilization, unleashing violence on protestors and extensive crackdowns across the country, prompting opposition groups to turn to armed revolt. Syrian society was further sectarianized following the Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war, which witnessed numerous Khomeinist militant groups sponsored by Iran fight in the side of the Assad government.[224][220]
Human rights
Ba'athist government has been ruling Syria as a totalitarian state, policing every aspect of Syrian society for decades. Commanders of government's security forces – consisting of Syrian Arab Army, secret police, Ba'athist paramilitaries – directly implement the executive functions of the state, with scant regard for legal processes and bureaucracy. The surveillance system of the Mukhabarat is pervasive, with the total number of agents working for its various branches estimated to be as high as 1:158 ratio with the civilian population. Security services shut down civil society organizations, curtail freedom of movement within the country and bans non-Ba'athist political literature and symbols.[98][225] In 2010, Human Rights Watch published the report "A Wasted Decade" documenting repression during Assad's first decade of emergency rule; marked by arbitrary arrests, censorship and discrimination against Syrian Kurds.[225][226]
Throughout the 2000s, the dreaded Mukhabarat agents carried out routine abductions, arbitrary detentions and torture of civilians. Numerous show trials were conducted against dissidents, filling Syrian prisons with journalists and human rights activists. Members of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate had long enjoyed broad privileges to carry out extrajudicial actions and they have immunity from criminal offences. In 2008, Assad extended this immunity to other departments of security forces.[226] Human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have detailed how the Assad government's secret police tortured, imprisoned, and killed political opponents, and those who speak out against the government.[227][228] In addition, some 600 Lebanese political prisoners are thought to be held in government prisons since the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, with some held for as long as over 30 years.[229] Since 2006, the Assad government has expanded the use of travel bans against political dissidents.[230] In an interview with ABC News in 2007, Assad stated: "We don't have such [things as] political prisoners," though The New York Times reported the arrest of 30 Syrian political dissidents who were organising a joint opposition front in December 2007, with 3 members of this group considered to be opposition leaders being remanded in custody.[231]
The government also denied permission for human rights organizations and independent NGOs to work in the country.[226] In 2010, Syria banned face veils at universities.[232][233] Following the protests of Syrian Revolution in 2011, Assad partially relaxed the veil ban.[234]
_Montreal_Syrian_solidarity_demonstration_March_27.jpg)
Foreign Affairs journal released an editorial on the Syrian situation in the wake of the 2011 protests:[235]
During its decades of rule... the Assad family developed a strong political safety net by firmly integrating the military into the government. In 1970, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, seized power after rising through the ranks of the Syrian armed forces, during which time he established a network of loyal Alawites by installing them in key posts. In fact, the military, ruling elite, and ruthless secret police are so intertwined that it is now impossible to separate the Assad regime from the security establishment. Bashar al-Assad's threat to use force against protesters would be more plausible than Tunisia's or Egypt's were. So, unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, where a professionally trained military tended to play an independent role, the regime and its loyal forces have been able to deter all but the most resolute and fearless oppositional activists... At the same time, it is significantly different from Libya, where the military, although brutal and loyal to the regime, is a more disorganized group of militant thugs than a trained and disciplined army.
Between 2011 and 2013; the state security apparatus is believed to have tortured and killed over 10,000 civil activists, political dissidents, journalists, civil defense volunteers and those accused of treason and terror charges, as part of a campaign of deadly crackdown ordered by Assad.[236] In June 2023, UN General Assembly voted in favour of establishing an independent body to investigate the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands of missing civilians who have been forcibly disappeared, killed or languishing in Assad regime's dungeons and torture chambers. The vote was condemned by Russia, North Korea and Iran.[237][238][239]
In 2023, Canada and Netherlands filed a lawsuit against Syria at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), charging the latter with violating the United Nations Convention Against Torture. The joint petition accused the Syrian regime of organizing "unimaginable physical and mental pain and suffering" as a strategy to collectively punish the Syrian population.[240][241][242] Russia vetoed UN Security Council efforts to prosecute Bashar al-Assad at the International Criminal Court.[243]
Repression of Kurds
Ba'athist Syria had long banned Kurdish language in schools and public institutions; and discrimination against Kurds steadily increased during the rule of Bashar al-Assad. State policy officially suppressed Kurdish culture; with more than 300,000 Syrian Kurds being rendered stateless. Kurdish grievances against state persecution eventually culminated in the 2004 Qamishli Uprisings, which were crushed down violently after sending Syrian military forces. The ensuing crackdown resulted in the killings of more than 36 Kurds and injuring at least 160 demonstrators. More than 2000 civilians were arrested and tortured in government detention centres. Restrictions on Kurdish activities has been further tightened following the Qamishli massacre, with the Assad regime virtually banning all Kurdish cultural gatherings and political activism under the charges of “inciting strife” or “weakening national sentiment.” During 2005–2010, Human Rights Watch verified security crackdowns on at least 14 Kurdish political and cultural gatherings.[226][225] In March 2008, Syrian military opened fire at a Kurdish gathering in Qamishli that marked Nowruz, killing three and injuring five civilians.[244]
Censorship
On 22 September 2001, Assad decreed a Press Law that tightened government control over all literature printed or published in Syria; ranging from newspapers to books, pamphlets and periodicals. Publishers, writers, editors, distributors, journalists and other individuals accused of violating the Press Law are imprisoned or fined. Censorship has also been expanded into the cyberspace, and various websites are banned. Numerous bloggers and content creators have been arrested under various "national security" charges.[226]
A 2007 law requires internet cafés to record all the comments users post on chat forums.[245] Another decree in 2008 obligated internet cafes to keep records of their customers and notify them routinely to the police.[246] Websites such as Arabic Wikipedia, YouTube, and Facebook were blocked intermittently between 2008 and February 2011.[247][248][249] Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Syria as the third dangerous country to be an online blogger in 2009. Individuals are arrested based on a wide variety of accusations; ranging from undermining "national unity" to posting or sharing "false" content.[226][246]
Syria was ranked as the third most censored country in CPJ's 2012 report. Apart from restrictions for international journalists that prohibit their entry, domestic press is controlled by state agencies that promote Ba'athist ideology. From 2011, the Syrian government has issued a complete media blackout and foreign correspondents were quickly detained, abducted or tortured. As a result, the outside world is able to know of situations happening inside Syria only through videos of independent civilian journalists. The Assad government has shut down internet coverage, mobile networks as well as telephone lines in areas under its control to prevent any news that has its attempts to monopolize information related to Syria.[250]
Crackdowns, ethnic cleansing, and forced disappearances
The crackdown ordered by Bashar al-Assad against Syrian protestors was the most ruthless of all military clampdowns in the entire Arab Spring. As violence deteriorated and death toll mounted to the thousands; the European Union, Arab League and United States began imposing wide range of sanctions against Assad regime. By December 2011, United Nations had declared the situation in Syria to be a "civil war".[251] By this point, all the protestors and armed resistance groups had viewed the unconditional resignation of Bashar al-Assad as part of their core demands. In July 2012, Arab League held an emergency session demanding the "swift resignation" of Assad and promised "safe exit" if he accepted the offer.[252][253] Assad rebuffed the offers, instead seeking foreign military support from Iran and Russia to defend his embattled regime through scorched-earth tactics, massacres, sieges, forced starvations, ethnic cleansing, etc.[254]
The crackdowns and extermination campaigns of Assad regime resulted in the Syrian refugee crisis; causing the forced displacement of 14 million Syrians, with around 7.2 million refugees.[255] This has made the Syrian refugee crisis the largest refugee crisis in the world; and UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi has described it as "the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time and a continuing cause for suffering."[255][256]
Ethnic cleansing
Eva Koulouriotis has described Bashar al-Assad as the "master of ethnic cleansing in the 21st century".[257] During the course of the civil war, Assad ordered depopulation campaigns throughout the country to re-shape its demography in favour of his regime, and the military tactics have been compared to the persecutions of the Bosnian war. Between 2011 and 2015, Ba'athist militias are reported to have committed 49 ethno-sectarian massacres for the purpose of implementing its social engineering agenda in the country. Alawite loyalist militias known as the Shabiha have been launched into Sunni villages and towns; perpetrating numerous anti-Sunni massacres. These include the Houla, Bayda and Baniyas massacres, Al-Qubeir massacre, Al-Hasawiya massacre, etc. which have resulted in hundreds of deaths; with hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing under threats of regime persecution and sexual violence. Pogroms and deportations were pronounced in central Syrian regions and Alawite majority coastal areas, where the Syrian military and Hezbollah view as a priority to establish strategic control by expelling Sunni residents and bringing in Iran-backed Shia militants.[258][259][257][260] In 2016, UN officials criticized Bashar al-Assad for pursuing demographic engineering and ethnic cleansing in Darayya district in Damascus, under the guise of de-escalation deals.[261]
Syrian government forces have pursued mass-killings of civilian populations as part of its war-strategy throughout the conflict; and is responsible for inflicting more than 90% of the total civilian deaths in the Syrian civil war.[262] Between 2011 and 2021, a minimum of 306,000 civilian deaths are estimated to have occurred by the UN.[104][105] As of 2022, total death toll has risen to approximately 580,000.[263] An additional 154,000 civilians have been forcibly disappeared or subject to arbitrary detentions across Syria, between 2011 and 2023. As of 2023, more than 135,000 individuals are being tortured, incarcerated or dead in Ba'athist prison networks, including thousands of women and children.[264]
Since 2011, the Assad regime has arrested and detained children without trial until the age of 18, after which they were transferred to Syrian military field courts and killed. A 2024 investigative report by the Syrian Investigative Journalism Unit (SIRAJ) identified 24 Syrian children who were forcibly disappeared, had their assets confiscated, detained and later killed after they reached the age of 18. The report, based on inside sources within the Assad government, interviews with victims' families, and public sources, estimated that more than 6,000 detainees under the age of 18 were sentenced to death in the Seydnaya Prison and an Assadist military field court in al-Dimas town between 2014 and 2017, citing eyewitness accounts of an insider within the Ba'athist military police.[265][266]
War crimes
"The nature and extent of Assad's violence is strategic in design and effect. He is pursuing a strategy of terror, siege, and depopulation in key areas, calculating that winning back the loyalty of much of the Sunni middle class and underclass is highly unlikely and certainly not worth the resources and political capital. Better to level half the country than to give it over to the opposition."
Numerous politicians, dissidents, authors and journalists have nicknamed Assad as the "butcher" of Syria for his war-crimes, anti-Sunni sectarian mass-killings, chemical weapons attacks and ethnic cleansing campaigns.[268][269][270][271] The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that at least 10 European citizens were tortured by the Assad government while detained during the Syrian civil war, potentially leaving Assad open to prosecution by individual European countries for war crimes.[272][166] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated in December 2013 that UN investigations directly implicated Bashar al-Assad guilty of crimes against humanity and pursuing an extermination strategy developed "at the highest level of government, including the head of state."[273]
Stephen Rapp, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, stated in 2014 that the crimes committed by Assad are the worst seen since those of Nazi Germany.[274] In March 2015, Rapp further stated that the case against Assad is "much better" than those against Slobodan Milošević of Serbia or Charles Taylor of Liberia, both of whom were indicted by international tribunals.[275] Charles Lister, Director of the Countering Terror and Extremism Program at Middle East Institute, describes Bashar al-Assad as "21st century's biggest war criminal".[176]
In a February 2015 interview with the BBC, Assad dismissed accusations that the Syrian Arab Air Force used barrel bombs as "childish", claiming that his forces have never used these types of "barrel" bombs and responded with a joke about not using "cooking pots" either.[276] The BBC Middle East editor conducting the interview, Jeremy Bowen, later described Assad's statement regarding barrel bombs as "patently not true".[277][278] As soon as demonstrations arose in 2011–2012, Bashar al-Assad opted to implement the "Samson option", the characteristic approach of the neo-Ba'athist regime since the era of Hafez al-Assad; wherein protests were violently suppressed and demonstrators were shot and fired at directly by the armed forces. However, unlike Hafez; Bashar had even less loyalty and was politically fragile, exacerbated by alienation of the majority of the population. As a result, Bashar chose to crack down on dissent far more comprehensively and harshly than his father; and a mere allegation of collaboration was reason enough to get assassinated.[279]
Nadim Shehadi, the director of The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, stated that "In the early 1990s, Saddam Hussein was massacring his people and we were worried about the weapons inspectors," and claimed that "Assad did that too. He kept us busy with chemical weapons when he massacred his people."[280][281] Contrasting the policies of Hafez al-Assad and that of his son Bashar, former Syrian vice-president and Ba'athist dissident Abdul Halim Khaddam states:
"The Father had a mind and the Son has a loss of reason. How could the army use its force and the security appartus with all its might to destroy Syria because of a protest against the mistakes of one of your security officials. The father would act differently. Father Hafez hit Hama after he encircled it, warned and then hit Hama after a long siege... But his son is different. On the subject of Daraa, Bashar gave instructions to open fire on the demonstrators."[282]
Human rights organizations and criminal investigators have documented Assad's war crimes and sent it to the International Criminal Court for indictment.[283] Since Syria is not a party to the Rome Statute, International Criminal Court requires authorization from the UN Security Council to send Bashar al-Assad to tribunal. As this gets consistently vetoed by Assad's primary backer Russia, ICC prosecutions have not transpired. On the other hand, courts in various European countries have begun prosecuting and convicting senior Ba'ath party members, Syrian military commanders and Mukhabarat officials charged with war crimes.[284] In September 2015, France began an inquiry into Assad for crimes against humanity, with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius stating "Faced with these crimes that offend the human conscience, this bureaucracy of horror, faced with this denial of the values of humanity, it is our responsibility to act against the impunity of the killers".[285]
In February 2016, head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, told reporters: "The mass scale of deaths of detainees suggests that the government of Syria is responsible for acts that amount to extermination as a crime against humanity." The UN Commission reported finding "unimaginable abuses", including women and children as young as seven perishing while being held by Syrian authorities. The report also stated: "There are reasonable grounds to believe that high-ranking officers—including the heads of branches and directorates—commanding these detention facilities, those in charge of the military police, as well as their civilian superiors, knew of the vast number of deaths occurring in detention facilities ... yet did not take action to prevent abuse, investigate allegations or prosecute those responsible".[286]
In March 2016, the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs led by New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith called on the Obama administration to create a war crimes tribunal to investigate and prosecute violations "whether committed by the officials of the Government of Syria or other parties to the civil war".[287]
In June 2018, Germany's chief prosecutor issued an international arrest warrant for one of Assad's most senior military officials, Jamil Hassan.[288] Hassan is the head of Syria's powerful Air Force Intelligence Directorate. Detention centers run by Air Force Intelligence are among the most notorious in Syria, and thousands are believed to have died because of torture or neglect. Charges filed against Hassan claim he had command responsibility over the facilities and therefore knew of the abuse. The move against Hassan marked an important milestone of prosecutors trying to bring senior members of Assad's inner circle to trial for war crimes.
In an investigative report about the Tadamon Massacre, Professors Uğur Ümit Üngör and Annsar Shahhoud, found witnesses who attested that Assad gave orders for the Syrian Military Intelligence to direct the Shabiha to kill civilians.[289]
2023-2024 arrest warrant and legal proceedings
On 15 November 2023, France issued an arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar Assad over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in Syria.[15] In May 2024, French anti-terrorism prosecutors requested the Paris appeals court to consider revoking Assad's arrest warrant, asserting his absolute immunity as a serving head of state.[290]
On 26 June 2024, the Paris appeals court determined that the international arrest warrant issued by France against Assad for alleged complicity in war crimes during the Syrian civil war remains valid. This decision was confirmed by attorneys involved in the case.[290]
According to the lawyers, this ruling marked the first instance where a national court acknowledged that the personal immunity of a serving head of state is not absolute, as reported by The Associated Press.[290]
Chemical attacks
The Syrian military has deployed chemical warfare as a systematic military strategy in the Syrian civil war, and is estimated to have committed over 300 chemical attacks, targeting civilian populations throughout the course of the conflict.[291][292] Investigation conducted by the GPPi research institute documented 336 confirmed attacks involving chemical weapons in Syria between 23 December 2012 and 18 January 2019. The study attributed 98% of the total verified chemical attacks to the Assad's regime. Almost 90% of the attacks had occurred after the Ghouta chemical attack in August 2013.[293][294]
.JPG)
Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention and OPCW member state in October 2013, and there are currently three OPCW missions with UN mandates to investigate chemical weapons issues in Syria. These are the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) to verify Syrian declarations of CW Programme; OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) tasked to identify the chemical attacks and type of weapons used; and the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) which investigates the perpetrators of the chemical attacks. The conclusions are submitted to the United Nations bodies.[295]
In April 2021, Syria was suspended from OPCW through the public vote of member states, for not co-operating with the body's Investigation Identification Team (IIT) and violating the Chemical Weapons Convention.[296][297][298] Findings of another investigation report published the OPCW-IIT in July 2021 concluded that the Syrian regime had engaged in confirmed chemical attacks at least 17 times, out of the reported 77 chemical weapon attacks attributed to Assadist forces.[299][300] As of March 2023, independent United Nations inquiry commissions have confirmed at least nine chemical attacks committed by forces loyal to the Assad government.[301][302]
.JPG)
The deadliest chemical attack have been the Ghouta chemical attacks, when Assad government forces launched the nerve agent sarin into civilian areas during its brutal Siege of Eastern Ghouta in early hours of 21 August 2013. Thousands of infected and dying victims flooded the nearby hospitals, showing symptoms such as foaming, body convulsions and other neurotoxic symptoms. An estimated 1,100-1,500 civilians; including women and children, are estimated to have been killed in the attacks.[303][304][305] The attack was internationally condemned and represented the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran-Iraq war.[306][307] On 21 August 2022, United States government marked the ninth anniversary of Ghouta Chemical attacks stating: "United States remembers and honors the victims and survivors of the Ghouta attack and the many other chemical attacks we assess the Assad regime has launched. We condemn in the strongest possible terms any use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, under any circumstances... The United States calls on the Assad regime to fully declare and destroy its chemical weapons program... and for the regime to allow the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Declaration Assessment Team."[308]
In April 2017, there was a sarin chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun that killed more than 80 people.[309][310][236] The attack prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to order the U.S. military to launch 59 missiles at the Syrian Shayrat airbase.[311][312] Several months later, a joint report from the UN and international chemical weapons inspectors concluded that the attack was the work of the Assad regime.[166][313]
In April 2018, a chemical attack occurred in Douma, prompting the U.S. and its allies to accuse Assad of violating international laws and initiated joint missile strikes at chemical weapons facilities in Damascus and Homs. Both Syria and Russia denied the involvement of the Syrian government at this time.[314][315] The third report published on 27 January 2023 by the OPCW-IIT concluded that the Assad regime was responsible for the 2018 Douma chemical attack which killed at least 43 civilians.[j]
Comments on the Holocaust
In a speech delivered at the Ba'ath party's central committee meeting in December 2023, Bashar al-Assad claimed that there was "no evidence" of the killings of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Emphasizing that Jews were not the sole victims of Nazi extermination campaigns, Assad alleged that the Holocaust was "politicized" by Allied powers to facilitate the mass-deportation of European Jews to Palestine, and that it was used as an excuse to justify the creation of Israel. Assad also accused the U.S. government of financially and militarily sponsoring the rise of Nazism during the inter-war period.[316][317]
Public image
Domestic opposition and support
.svg)
The secular resistance to Assad rule is mainly represented by the Syrian National Council and National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, two political bodies that constitute a coalition of centre-left and right-wing conservative factions of the Syrian opposition. Military commanders and civilian leaders of Free Syrian Army militias are represented in these councils. The coalition represents the political wing of the Syrian Interim Government and seeks the democratic transition of Syria through grass-roots activism, protests and armed resistance to overthrow the Ba'athist dictatorship.[318][319][320] A less influential faction within the Syrian opposition is the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), a coalition of left-wing socialist parties that seek to end the rule of Assad family but without foreign involvement. Established in June 2011, major parties in the NCC coalition are the Democratic Arab Socialist Union, Syrian Democratic People's Party and the Communist Labour Party.[321]
National Democratic Rally (NDR) was an older left-wing opposition coalition of socialist parties formed in 1980, but banned by the Baathist government. NDR was active during the nation-wide protests of the 1980s and the Damascus Spring of the 2000s.[322] During the early years of the civil war, the Druze in Syria primarily sought to remain neutral, "seeking to stay out of the conflict". Druze-Israeli politician Majalli Wahabi claimed in 2016 that over half support the Assad government despite its relative weakness in Druze areas.[323] The "Sheikhs of Dignity" movement, which had sought to remain neutral and to defend Druze areas,[324] blamed the government after its leader Sheikh Wahid al-Balous was assassinated and organized large scale protests which left six government security personnel dead.[325] Druze community became fervently opposed to the Assad government over time and has been vocal about its opposition to increasing Iranian interference in Syria.[326] In August 2023, mass protests against Assad regime erupted in the Druze-majority city of Suweida,[327][328] which eventually spread to other regions of Southern Syria.[328][329][330] Druze cleric Hikmat al-Hajiri, religious leader of Syrian Druze community, has declared war against "Iranian invasion of the country".[326] Syrian Sufi scholar Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, a fervent opponent of both the Ba'athist regime and Islamic State group, has described Assad's rule as a "reign of terror" that wreaked havoc and enormous misery on the Syrian populace.[331]
Central to the regime's support base is the Ba'athist loyalists who dominate Syrian politics, trade unions, youth organizations, students unions, bureaucracy and armed forces.[332] Ba'ath party institutions and its political activities form the "vital pillars of regime survival". Family networks of politicians in the Ba'ath party-led National Progressive Front (NPF) and businessmen loyal to the Assad family form another pole of support. Electoral listing is supervised by Ba'ath party leadership which expels candidates not deemed "sufficiently loyal".[333][334][335] Although it has been reported at various stages of the Syrian civil war that religious minorities such as the Alawites and Christians in Syria favour the Assad government because of its secularism,[336][337] opposition exists among Assyrian Christians who have claimed that the Assad government seeks to use them as "puppets" and deny their distinct ethnicity, which is non-Arab.[338] Although Syria's Alawite community forms Bashar al-Assad's core support base and dominate the military and security apparatus,[339][340] in April 2016, BBC News reported that Alawite leaders released a document seeking to distance themselves from Assad.[341]
.svg)
Kurdish Supreme Committee was a coalition of 13 Kurdish political parties opposed to Assad regime. Before its dissolution in 2015, the committee consisted of KNC and PYD.[321] Circassians in Syria have also become strong opponents of the regime as Ba'athist crackdowns and massacres across Syria intensified viciously; and members of Circassian ethnic minority have attempted to escape Syria, fearing persecution.[342] In 2014, the Christian Syriac Military Council, the largest Christian organization in Syria, allied with the Free Syrian Army opposed to Assad,[343] joining other Syrian Christian militias such as the Sutoro who had joined the Syrian opposition against the Assad government.[344] Abu Muhammad al-Joulani, commander of the Tahrir al-Sham rebel militia, condemned Assad regime for converting Syria "into an ongoing earthquake the past 12 years", in the context of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes.[345]
"In June 2014, Assad won a disputed presidential election held in government-controlled areas (and boycotted in opposition-held areas[346] and Kurdish areas governed by the Democratic Union Party[347]) with 88.7% of the vote. Turnout was estimated to be 73.42% of eligible voters, including those in rebel-controlled areas.[348] The regime's electoral commission also disqualified millions of Syrian citizens displaced outside the country from voting.[349] Independent observers and academic scholarship unanimously describe the event as a sham election organized to legitimise Assad's rule.[350][351][352] In his inauguration ceremony, Bashar denounced the opposition as "terrorists" and "traitors"; while attacking the West for backing what he described as the "fake Arab spring".[353]
Times of Israel reported that although various individuals interviewed in a "Sunni-dominated, middle-class neighborhood of central Damascus" exhibited fealty for Assad; it was not possible to discern the actual support for the regime due to the ubiquitous influence of the secret police in the society.[354] Ba'athist dissident Abdul Halim Khaddam who had served as Syrian Vice President during the tenures of both Hafez and Bashar, disparaged Bashar al-Assad as a pawn in Iran's imperial scheme. Contrasting the power dynamics that existed under both the autocrats, Khaddam stated:
"[Bashar] is not like his father.. He never allowed the Iranians to intervene in Syrian affairs.. During Hafez Assad's time, an Iranian delegation arrived in Syria and attempted to convert some of the Muslim Alawite Syrians to Shia Islam... Assad ordered his minister of foreign Affairs to summon the Iranian ambassador to deliver an ultimatum: The delegation has 24 hours to exit Syria.... They had no power [during Hafez's rule], unlike Bashar who gave them [Iranians] power and control."[355][356]
International opposition
Foreign journalists and political observers who travelled to Syria have described it as the most "ruthless police state" in the Arab World. Assad's violent repression of Damascus Spring of the early 2000s and the publication of a UN report that implicated him in the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, exacerbated Syria's post-Cold War isolation.[357][358] Following global outrage against Assad regime's deadly crackdown on the Arab Spring protestors which led to the Syrian civil war, scorched-earth policy against the civilian populations resulting in more than half a million deaths, mass murders and systematic deployment of chemical warfare throughout the conflict; Bashar al-Assad became an international pariah and numerous world leaders have urged him to resign.[359][358][360][361]
Since 2011, Bashar al-Assad has lost recognition from several international organizations such as the Arab League (in 2011),[362] Union for the Mediterranean (in 2011)[363] and Organization of Islamic Co-operation (in 2012).[364][365] United States, European Union, Turkey, Arab League and various countries began enforcing broad sets of sanctions against Syrian regime from 2011, with the objective of forcing Assad to resign and assist in a political solution to the crisis.[366] International bodies have criticized one-sided elections organized by Assad government during the conflict. In the 2014 London conference of countries of the Friends of Syria group, British Foreign Secretary William Hague characterized Syrian elections as a "parody of democracy" and denounced the regime's "utter disregard for human life" for perpetrating war-crimes and state-terror on the Syrian population.[367] Assad's policy of holding elections under the circumstances of an ongoing civil war were also rebuked by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.[368]
Georgia suspended all relations with Syria following Bashar al-Assad's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, condemning his government as a "Russian manipulated regime" that supported Russian occupation and "ethnic cleansing".[k] Following Assad's strong backing of Russian invasion of Ukraine and recognition of the breakaway separatist republics, Ukraine cut off all diplomatic relations with Syria in June 2022. Describing Assad's policies as "worthless", Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky pledged to expand further sanctions against Syria.[372][373] In March 2023, National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine put into effect a range of sanctions targeting 141 firms and 300 individuals linked to Assad regime, Russian weapons manufacturers and Iranian dronemakers. This was days after Assad's visit to Moscow, wherein he justified Russian invasion of Ukraine as a fight against "old and new Nazis". Bashar al-Assad, Prime Minister Hussein Arnous and Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad were amongst the individuals who were sanctioned.[l] Sanctions also involved freezing of all Syrian state properties in Ukraine, curtailment of monetary transactions, termination of economic commitments and recision of all official Ukrainian awards.[377] Syria formally broke its diplomatic ties to Ukraine on 20 July, citing the principle of reciprocity.[379]
3.jpg)
In April 2023, a French court declared three high-ranking Ba'athist security officials guilty of crimes against humanity, torture and various war-crimes against French-Syrian citizens. These included Ali Mamlouk, director of National Security Bureau of Syrian Ba'ath party and Jamil Hassan, former head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate.[380][381] France had issued international arrest warrants against the three officers over the case in 2018.[382] In May 2023, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna publicly demanded the prosecution of Bashar al-Assad for engaging in chemical warfare and killing hundreds of thousands of people; branding him as "the enemy of his own people".[383][384] On 15 November 2023, France issued an arrest warrant against Assad for use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria.[15]
Left-wing
Bashar al-Assad is widely criticised by left-wing activists and intellectuals world-wide for appropriating leftist ideologies and its socialist, progressive slogans as a cover for his own family rule and to empower a loyalist clique of elites at the expense of ordinary Syrians. His close alliance with clergy-ruled Khomeinist Iran and its sectarian militant networks; while simultaneously pursuing a policy of locking up left-wing critics of Assad family has been subject to heavy criticism.[385]
Egyptian branch of the Iraqi Ba'ath movement has declared its strong support to the Syrian revolution; denouncing Ba'athist Syria as a repressive dictatorship controlled by the "Assad gang". It has attacked Assad family's Ba'athist credentials, accusing the Syrian Ba'ath party of acting as the borderguards of Israel ever since its overthrowal of the Ba'athist National Command during the 1966 coup d'état. Describing Bashar al-Assad as a disgraceful person for inviting hostile powers like Iran to Syria, Egyptian Ba'athists have urged the Syrian revolutionaries to unite in their efforts to overthrow the Assad regime and resist foreign imperialism.[386]
Describing Assad's regime as a mafia state that thrives on corruption and sectarianism, Lebanese socialist academic Gilbert Achcar stated:
"Bashar Assad's cousin became the richest man in the country, controlling – it is widely believed – over half of the economy. And that's only one member of the ruling clan... The clan functions as a real mafia, and has been ruling the country for several decades. This constitutes the deep root of the explosion, in combination with the fact that the Syrian regime is one of the most despotic in the region. Compared to Assad's Syria, Mubarak's Egypt was a beacon of democracy and political freedom!... What is specific to this regime is that Assad's father has reshaped and reconstructed the state apparatus, especially its hard nucleus – the armed forces – in order to create a Pretorian guard for itself. The army, especially its elite forces, is tied to the regime itself in various ways, most prominently through the use of sectarianism. Even people who had never heard of Syria before know now that the regime is based on one minority in the country – about 10% of the population; the Alawites."[387]
The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Lebanon has taken an anti-Assad stance and organised mass-protests in support of the Syrian revolution. In August 2012, PSP publicly denounced the Assad government as a "killing machine" engaged in slaughtering Syrian people. PSP leader Ayman Kamaleddine demanded the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador from Lebanon, describing him as "the representative of the murderer regime in Lebanon".[15][16]
International support
Far-right support
_(cropped).jpg)
Bashar al-Assad's regime has received support from prominent white nationalist, neo-Nazi and far-right figures in Europe, who were attracted by his "war on terror" discourse against Islamists during the period of European refugee crisis. Assad's bombings of Syrian cities are admired in the Islamophobic discourse of far-right circles, which considers Muslims as a civilizational enemy. American white supremacists often praise Assad as an authoritarian bulwark against what they view as the forces of "Islamic extremism" and globalism; and several pro-Assad slogans were chanted in the neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville in 2017.[m][388]
Nick Griffin, the former leader of the British National Party (BNP), was formerly an official ambassador and guest of the Syrian government;[389] due to public controversy, the Assad government publicly disassociated itself from him after his trip to Syria in 2014.[390] After the 2014 Syrian presidential elections, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko sent a cable of congratulations to Bashar, expressing his "confidence" in the "leadership" of Bashar al-Assad, and depicted the Ba'athist government's military campaign as part of "the fight against terrorism and foreign interference".[391]
Left-wing
Left-wing support for Assad has been split since the start of the Syrian civil war;[392][needs update] the Assad government has been accused of cynically manipulating sectarian identity and anti-imperialism to continue its worst activities.[393]
Some heads of state or governments have declared their support for Assad, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.[394] After declaring victory in the 2014 elections, Assad received congratulations from President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro,[395] President of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika,[396] President of Guyana Donald Ramotar,[397] President of South Africa Jacob Zuma,[398] President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega,[399] and Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah and President of the State of Palestine.[400][401][402] Palestinian Marxist–Leninist militant group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) supported Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war. As a result of this stance, Iranian government increased its military and financial funding to PFLP.[403][404]
International public relations
In order to promote their image and media-portrayal overseas, Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad hired U.S. and UK based PR firms and consultants.[405] In particular, these secured photoshoots for Asma al-Assad with fashion and celebrity magazines, including Vogue's March 2011 "A Rose in the Desert".[406][407] These firms included Bell Pottinger and Brown Lloyd James, with the latter being paid $5,000 a month for their services.[405][408]
At the outset of the Syrian civil war, Syrian government networks were hacked by the group Anonymous, revealing that an ex-Al Jazeera journalist had been hired to advise Assad on how to manipulate the public opinion of the U.S. Among the advice was the suggestion to compare the popular uprising against the regime to the Occupy Wall Street protests.[409] In a separate e-mail leak several months later by the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution, which were published by The Guardian, it was revealed that Assad's consultants had coordinated with an Iranian government media advisor.[410] In March 2015, an expanded version of the aforementioned leaks was handed to the Lebanese NOW News website and published the following month.[411]
After the Syrian civil war began, the Assads started a social media campaign which included building a presence on Facebook, YouTube, and most notably Instagram.[408] A Twitter account for Assad was reportedly activated; however, it remained unverified.[412] This resulted in much criticism, and was described by The Atlantic Wire as "a propaganda campaign that ultimately has made the [Assad] family look worse".[413] The Assad government has also allegedly arrested activists for creating Facebook groups that the government disapproved of,[130] and has appealed directly to Twitter to remove accounts it disliked.[414] The social media campaign, as well as the previously leaked e-mails, led to comparisons with Hannah Arendt's A Report on the Banality of Evil by The Guardian, The New York Times and the Financial Times.[415][416][417]
In October 2014, 27,000 photographs depicting torture committed by the Assad government were put on display at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.[418][419] Lawyers were hired to write a report on the images by the British law firm Carter-Ruck, which in turn was funded by the Government of Qatar.[420]
In November 2014, the Quilliam Foundation reported that a propaganda campaign, which they claimed had the "full backing of Assad", spread false reports about the deaths of Western-born jihadists in order to deflect attention from the government's alleged war crimes. Using a picture of a Chechen fighter from the Second Chechen War, pro-Assad media reports disseminated to Western media outlets, leading them to publish a false story regarding the death of a non-existent British jihadist.[421]
In 2015, Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in support of Assad, and on 21 October 2015, Assad flew to Moscow and met with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who said regarding the civil war: "this decision can be made only by the Syrian people. Syria is a friendly country. And we are ready to support it not only militarily but politically as well."[422]
Personal life
Assad speaks fluent English and basic conversational French, having studied at the Franco-Arab al-Hurriyah school in Damascus.[423]
In December 2000, Assad married Asma Akhras, a British citizen of Syrian origin from Acton, London.[424][425] In 2001, Asma gave birth to their first child, a son named Hafez after the child's grandfather Hafez al-Assad. Bashar al-Assad's son Hafez graduated from Moscow State University in the summer of 2023 with a master's thesis in number theory.[426] Their daughter Zein was born in 2003, followed by their second son Karim in 2004.[25] In January 2013, Assad stated in an interview that his wife was pregnant;[427][428] however, there were no later reports of them having a fourth child.[citation needed]
Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite Muslim.[429] Bashar performed the hajj pilgrimage twice in 1999 and in 2000.[430]
Assad's sister, Bushra al-Assad, and mother, Anisa Makhlouf, left Syria in 2012 and 2013, respectively, to live in the United Arab Emirates.[25] Makhlouf died in Damascus in 2016.[431]
Awards and honours
Revoked and returned awards and honours.
| Ribbon | Distinction | Country | Date | Location | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour |  France
|
25 June 2001 | Paris | Highest rank in the Order of the Legion of Honor in the Republic of France. Returned by Assad on 20 April 2018[432] after the opening of a revocation process by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on 16 April 2018. | [433][434] |
|
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise |  Ukraine
|
21 April 2002 | Kyiv | Revoked on 18 March 2023, as part of sanctions issued by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy which revoked all previous Ukrainian state awards to Assad government[377] | [435][377] |
|
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I |  Two Sicilies
|
21 March 2004 | Damascus | Dynastic order of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies; Revoked several years later[when?] by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro. | [436][437] |
|
Order of Zayed |  UAE
|
31 May 2008 | Abu Dhabi | Highest civil decoration in the United Arab Emirates. | [438] |
|
Order of the White Rose of Finland |  Finland
|
5 October 2009 | Damascus | One of three official orders in Finland. | [439] |
|
Order of King Abdulaziz |  Saudi Arabia
|
8 October 2009 | Damascus | Highest Saudi state order. | [440] |
|
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic |  Italy
|
11 March 2010 | Damascus | Highest ranking honour of the Republic of Italy. Revoked by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, on 28 September 2012 for "indignity". | [441][442] |
|
Collar of the Order of the Liberator |  Venezuela
|
28 June 2010[443] | Caracas | Highest Venezuelan state order. | [444] |
|
Grand Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross |  Brazil
|
30 June 2010 | Brasília | Brazil's highest order of merit. | [445] |
|
Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar |  Lebanon
|
31 July 2010 | Beirut | Second highest honour of Lebanon. | [446] |
|
Order of the Islamic Republic of Iran |  Iran
|
2 October 2010 | Tehran | Highest national medal of Iran. | [447][448] |
|
Uatsamonga Order |  South Ossetia
|
2018 | Damascus | State award of South Ossetia. | [449] |
See also
- List of international presidential trips made by Bashar al-Assad
- Presidency of Hafez al-Assad
- Foreign Policy of Bashar al-Assad
Explanatory notes
- ^ /bəˈʃɑːr æl.əˈsɑːd/ bə-SHAR AL-ə-SAHD, also /ælˈæsæd/ al-ASS-ad; Arabic: بشار الأسد, romanized: Baššār al-ʾAsad, Levantine Arabic pronunciation: [baʃˈʃaːr elˈʔasad].
- ^ Sources characterising the Assad family's rule of Syria as a personalist dictatorship:[2][3][4][5][6][7]
- ^ Sources describing Syria as a totalitarian state:
- Khamis, B. Gold, Vaughn, Sahar, Paul, Katherine (2013). "22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics". In Auerbach, Castronovo, Jonathan, Russ (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-19-976441-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Wieland, Carsten (2018). "6: De-neutralizing Aid: All Roads Lead to Damascus". Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid Through Violent Regimes. London: I. B. Tauris. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7556-4138-3.
- Ahmed, Saladdin (2019). Totalitarian Space and the Destruction of Aura. State University of New York Press, Albany: Suny Press. pp. 144, 149. ISBN 9781438472911.
- Hensman, Rohini (2018). "7: The Syrian Uprising". Indefensible: Democracy, Counterrevolution, and the Rhetoric of Anti-Imperialism. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1-60846-912-3.
- Khamis, B. Gold, Vaughn, Sahar, Paul, Katherine (2013). "22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics". In Auerbach, Castronovo, Jonathan, Russ (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-19-976441-9.
- ^ Sources:[9][10][11][12][13]
- ^ Sources:
- Steve Almasy; Richard Roth. "UN: Syria responsible for sarin attack that killed scores". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- "OPCW Releases Third Report by Investigation and Identification Team". 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023.
- "Third Report by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team" (PDF). 27 January 2023. pp. 2–139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2023 – via OPCW.
- "Joint Statement on OPCW Report Finding Syrian Regime Responsible for Chemical Weapons Attack in Douma, Syria on April 7, 2018". U.S Department of State. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
- "OPCW blames Syria gov't for 2018 chlorine gas attack in Douma". Al Jazeera. 27 January 2023.
- "Watchdog blames Syria for 2018 Douma chemical attack". BBC News. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
- Chulov, Martin (27 January 2023). "Syrian regime found responsible for Douma chemical attack". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023.
- Loveluck, Louisa (27 January 2023). "Syrian army responsible for Douma chemical weapons attack, watchdog confirms". Washington Post.
- ^ * van den Berg, Stephanie (12 June 2023). "Netherlands, Canada take Syria to World Court over torture claims". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023.
- "Canada and Netherlands take Syria to ICJ over alleged torture". The National. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023.
- "Joint statement by Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on instituting proceedings at the International Court of Justice to hold Syria to account for torture". Government of Netherlands. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023.
- "Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands jointly institute proceedings against the Syrian Arab Republic and request the Court to indicate provisional measures" (PDF). International Court of Justice.org. 12 June 2023. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2023.
- "Canada and the Kingdom of Netherlands vs. the Syrian Arab Republic" (PDF). International Court of Justice.org. 8 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2023.
- ^ Sources:[54][55][56][57][58][59]
- ^ Sources:[60][61][62][63][64][65]
- ^ Sources:[186][187][188][189][190]
- ^ Sources:
- "OPCW Releases Third Report by Investigation and Identification Team". 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023.
- "Third Report by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team" (PDF). 27 January 2023. pp. 2–139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2023 – via OPCW.
- "Joint Statement on OPCW Report Finding Syrian Regime Responsible for Chemical Weapons Attack in Douma, Syria on April 7, 2018". U.S Department of State. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
- "OPCW blames Syria gov't for 2018 chlorine gas attack in Douma". Al Jazeera. 27 January 2023.
- "Watchdog blames Syria for 2018 Douma chemical attack". BBC News. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
- Chulov, Martin (27 January 2023). "Syrian regime found responsible for Douma chemical attack". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023.
- Loveluck, Louisa (27 January 2023). "Syrian army responsible for Douma chemical weapons attack, watchdog confirms". Washington Post.
- ^ Sources:[369][168][370][371]
- ^ [185][374][375][376][377][378]
- ^ sources:
- Elba, Mariam (8 September 2017). "Mariam Elba". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017.
- Strickland, Patrick (14 February 2018). "Why do Italian fascists adore Syria's Bashar al-Assad?". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023.
- Snell, James (17 August 2017). "Why Nazis from Charlottesville to Europe love Bashar al-Assad". New Arab. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022.
- Ayoub, Joey (3 October 2022). "How the European far right coopted an Arabic letter". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022.
- "Western Far-right Worries Syrians and Delights Bashar al-Assad". The Syrian Observer. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022.
- Huetlin, Josephine (28 March 2018). "The European Far-Right's Sick Love Affair With Bashar al-Assad". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022.
References
Citations
- ^ "What to know about the growing normalization of Syria's dictator in the Middle East". PBS News. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ Svolik, Milan. "The Politics of Authoritarian Rule". Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- ^ Weeks, Jessica (2014). Dictators at War and Peace. Cornell University Press. p. 18.
- ^ Wedeen, Lisa (2018). Authoritarian Apprehensions. Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning. University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- ^ Hinnebusch, Raymond (2012). "Syria: from 'authoritarian upgrading' to revolution?". International Affairs. 88 (1): 95–113. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2012.01059.x.
- ^ Michalik, Susanne (2015). "Measuring Authoritarian Regimes with Multiparty Elections". In Michalik, Susanne (ed.). Multiparty Elections in Authoritarian Regimes: Explaining their Introduction and Effects. Studien zur Neuen Politischen Ökonomie. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 33–45. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-09511-6_3. ISBN 978-3658095116.
- ^ Geddes, Barbara; Wright, Joseph; Frantz, Erica (2018). How Dictatorships Work. Cambridge University Press. p. 233. doi:10.1017/9781316336182. ISBN 978-1-316-33618-2. S2CID 226899229.
- ^ "Civilian Death Toll". SNHR. September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022.
- ^ Robertson QC, Geoffrey (2013). "11: Justice in Demand". Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice (4th ed.). New York: The New Press. pp. 560–562, 573, 595–607. ISBN 978-1-59558-860-9.
- ^ Syria Freedom Support Act; Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2011. Washington DC: Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives. 2012. pp. 221–229.
- ^ Vohra, Anchal (16 October 2020). "Assad's Horrible War Crimes Are Finally Coming to Light Under Oath". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020.
- ^ "German court finds Assad regime official guilty of crimes against humanity". Daily Sabah. 13 January 2022. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022.
- ^ Martina Nosakhare, Whitney (15 March 2022). "Some Hope in the Struggle for Justice in Syria: European Courts Offer Survivors a Path Toward Accountability". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022.
- ^ *"Security Council Deems Syria's Chemical Weapon's Declaration Incomplete". United Nations: Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023.
- "Fifth Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention". European Union External Action. 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "France issues arrest warrant for Syria's President Assad - source". Reuters. 15 November 2023.
- ^ a b King, Esther (2 November 2016). "Assad denies responsibility for Syrian war". Politico. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
The Syrian president maintained he was fighting to preserve his country and criticized the West for intervening. "Good government or bad, it's not your mission" to change it, he said.
- ^ writer(s) (6 October 2016). "'Bombing hospitals is a war crime,' Syria's Assad says". ITV News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
The intense bombardment of Aleppo during an army offensive that began two weeks ago has included several strikes on hospitals, residents and medical workers there have said. But Assad denied any knowledge of such attacks, saying that there were only "allegations".
- ^ a b Zisser 2007, p. 20.
- ^ Seale & McConville 1992, p. 6.
- ^ Mikaberidze 2013, p. 38.
- ^ Seale, Patrick (15 June 2000). "Hafez al-Assad". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ^ Moosa 1987, p. 305.
- ^ a b Allam, Saber, Ashraf, Salah (2019). "The domestic structure of the regime". Assad's Survival: The Symbol Of Resisting The Arab Spring. 16 Faisal City, Almontaza, Alexandria, Egypt: Lamar. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-977-85412-3-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Cole, Robert (2022). "Syria". The Encyclopaedia of Propaganda. Routledge. pp. 760–761. ISBN 9781317471981.
- ^ a b c Dwyer, Mimi (8 September 2013). "Think Bashar al Assad Is Brutal? Meet His Family". The New Republic. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ a b Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy. 25 (5). The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy Institute for Policy and Strategy: 16 & 379. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. S2CID 154739379. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ Dow, Nicole (18 July 2012). "Getting to know Syria's first family". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ a b Zisser 2007, p. 21.
- ^ Ciezadlo, Annia (19 December 2013). "Bashar Al Assad: An Intimate Profile of a Mass Murderer". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ a b Khalaf, Roula (15 June 2012). "Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ Belt, Don (November 2009). "Syria". National Geographic. pp. 2, 9. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ Sachs, Susan (14 June 2000). "Man in the News; The Shy Young Doctor at Syria's Helm; Bashar al-Assad". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ "The enigma of Assad: How a painfully shy eye doctor turned into a murderous tyrant". 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ Leverett 2005, p. 59.
- ^ a b c "LADNO.ru" Асад Башар : биография [Bashar Assad: A Biography]. Ladno (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Beeston, Richard; Blanford, Nick (22 October 2005). "We are going to send him on a trip. Bye, bye Hariri. Rot in hell". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Leverett 2005, p. 60.
- ^ "How Syria's 'Geeky' President Went From Doctor to Dictator". NBC News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ Minahan 2002, p. 83.
- ^ Tucker & Roberts 2008, p. 167.
- ^ "Iran Report: June 19, 2000". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 11 November 2008. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ Wedeen, Lisa (2015). Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric and Symbols in Contemporary Syria. Chicago, US: University of Chicago Press. pp. 28, 39, 60–61. ISBN 978-0-226-33337-3. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Zisser 2007, p. 35.
- ^ Gresh, Alain (July 2020). "Syria: the rise and rise of Doctor Bashar". Le Monde diplomatique. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ Leverett 2005, p. 61.
- ^ Zisser 2007, p. 30.
- ^ "CNN Transcript – Breaking News: President Hafez Al-Assad Assad of Syria Confirmed Dead". CNN. 10 June 2000. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ a b Ma'oz, Ginat & Winckler 1999, p. 41.
- ^ Zisser 2007, p. 34–35.
- ^ Blanford 2006, p. 69–70.
- ^ Blanford 2006, p. 88.
- ^ a b c "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Facing down rebellion". BBC News. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "The rise of Syria's controversial president Bashar al-Assad". ABC News. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Syrians Vote For Assad in Uncontested Referendum". The Washington Post. Damascus. Associated Press. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ a b Yacoub Oweis, Khaleb (17 May 2007). "Syria's opposition boycotts vote on Assad". Reuters. Damascus. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ a b c Klatell, James (27 May 2007). "Syrians Vote in Presidential Referendum" Archived 6 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. CBS News.
- ^ Chulov, Martin (14 April 2014). "The one certainty about Syria's looming election – Assad will win" Archived 21 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian.
- ^ "Syria's Assad wins another term". BBC News. 29 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ "Democracy Damascus style: Assad the only choice in referendum". The Guardian. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ Cheeseman, Nicholas (2019). How to Rig an Election. Yale University Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0-300-24665-0. OCLC 1089560229.
- ^ Norris, Pippa; Martinez i Coma, Ferran; Grömping, Max (2015). "The Year in Elections, 2014". Election Integrity Project. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
The Syrian election ranked as worst among all the contests held during 2014.
- ^ Jones, Mark P. (2018). Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 9780190258658. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... al-Assad's 2014 election... occurred within an authoritarian context.
- ^ Makdisi, Marwan (16 July 2014). "Confident Assad launches new term in stronger position". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Evans, Dominic (28 April 2014). "Assad seeks re-election as Syrian civil war rages". Reuters. Retrieved 13 March 2015.[dead link]
- ^ "UK's William Hague attacks Assad's Syria elections plan". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Syrians in Lebanon battle crowds to vote for Bashar al-Assad". The Guardian. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ a b c "Bashar al-Assad sworn in for a third term as Syrian president". The Daily Telegraph. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ^ a b Kossaify, Ephrem (22 April 2021). "UN reiterates it is not involved in Syrian presidential election". Arab News. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021.
- ^ Leverett 2005, p. 80.
- ^ Wikstrom, Cajsa. "Syria: 'A kingdom of silence'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ a b Ghadry, Farid N. (Winter 2005). "Syrian Reform: What Lies Beneath". Middle East Quarterly. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Assad's 20-year rule, from Damascus Spring to pariah". France 24. 9 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ England, Andrew (13 September 2008). "'Damascus spring' fades from memory". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "The Damascus Spring". Carnegie Middle East Centre. 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Blair gets a public lecture on the harsh realities of the Middle East". The Guardian. 1 November 2001. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ a b "The Syrian Bet". The New Yorker. 20 July 2003. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ "Outsourcing the Torture of Suspected Terrorists". The New Yorker. 14 February 2005. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "America's gulag: Syrian regime was a 'common destination' for CIA rendition". Al Bawaba. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "A staggering map of the 54 countries that reportedly participated in the CIA's rendition program". Washington Post. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Cobain, Ian (5 February 2013). "CIA rendition: more than a quarter of countries 'offered covert support': Report finds at least 54 countries co-operated with global kidnap, detention and torture operation mounted after 9/11 attacks". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ Coughlin, Con (2023). "5: First Blood". Assad: The Triumph of Tyranny. 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR, UK: Pan Macmillan. pp. 80–97. ISBN 978-1-5290-7490-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Rafik Hariri: In Lebanon, assassination reverberates 10 years later". The Christian Science Monitor. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Comeback kid of Assad regime was a feared figure". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012.
- ^ Rudy Jaafar and Maria J. Stephan. (2009). "Lebanon's Independence Intifada: How an Unarmed Insurrection Expelled Syrian Forces", in Maria J. Stephan (ed.), Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization, and Governance in the Middle East, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 169–85.
- ^ "UN Harīrī probe implicates Syria". BBC News. 21 October 2005. Archived from the original on 7 November 2005.
- ^ Kifner, Hoge, John, Warren (21 October 2005). "Top Syrian Seen as Prime Suspect in Assassination". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mehlis, Detlev (19 October 2005). "Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1595 (2005)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2005.
- ^ "Middle East – New Hariri report 'blames Syria'". 11 December 2005. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Syria". United States Department of State. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 21 January 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Syria's Assad wins another term". BBC News. 29 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ "Democracy Damascus style: Assad the only choice in referendum". The Guardian. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ "Syrians Vote For Assad in Uncontested Referendum". The Washington Post. Damascus. Associated Press. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ Yacoub Oweis, Khaleb (17 May 2007). "Syria's opposition boycotts vote on Assad". Reuters. Damascus. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Klatell, James (27 May 2007). "Syrians Vote in Presidential Referendum". CBS News. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017.
- ^ Black, Ian (28 May 2007). "Democracy Damascus style: Assad the only choice in referendum". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017.
- ^ Chulov, Martin (13 April 2014). "The one certainty about Syria's looming election – Assad will win". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017.
- ^ "The Silent Strike". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Syria: Between oppression and freedom". Ifimes. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022.
- ^ "N.Koreans may have died in Israel raid in Syria: NHK". Reuters. 28 April 2008. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Q&A: Syrian activist Suhair Atassi". Al Jazeera. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ "'Day of rage' protest urged in Syria". NBC News. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "In Syria, Crackdown After Protests". The New York Times. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ Sadiki, Larbi; Abbas, Akeel (2015). "31: Deconstructing Despotic Legacies in the Arab Spring". Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring. 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017: Routledge. pp. 412, 413. ISBN 978-0-415-52391-2.
In the nearly 50-minute speech, President al-Assad gave his interpretation to the protests in Syria and other Arab countries, almost mocking the Arab Spring, invoking the outside regional and international conspirators and their inside 'agents' as the evil 'them'.. Resorting to conspiratorial attribution to explain the 'real' reasons behind the protests in Syria, al-Assad bestowed a pathological inevitability on the actions of political opposition, where the oppressive political system he heads turns into a noble victim, recipient of foreign illnesses.. [Assad speech]"Conspiracies are like germs: They procreate at every moment everywhere; they cannot be annihilated, but the immunity of the body can be strengthened against them.".. dissent loses its political meaning, or moral justification, acquiring 'othering' essence when the president places it in the dismissive context of the 'fitna'.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ a b Farge, Emma (28 June 2022). "War has killed 1.5% of Syria's population: UN estimate". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ a b "UN Human Rights Office estimates more than 306,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in Syria conflict". Ohchr.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Sadiki, Larbi; Abbas, Akeel (2015). "31: Deconstructing Despotic Legacies in the Arab Spring". Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring. 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017: Routledge. pp. 412, 413. ISBN 978-0-415-52391-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Administration Takes Additional Steps to Hold the Government of Syria Accountable for Violent Repression Against the Syrian People". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
Today, President Obama signed an Executive Order (E.O. 13573) imposing sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior officials of the Government of Syria in an effort to increase pressure on the Government of Syria to end its use of violence against its people and to begin a transition to a democratic system that protects the rights of the Syrian people.
- ^ a b "How the U.S. message on Assad shifted". The Washington Post. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ Oweis, Khaled Yacoub (18 May 2011). "U.S. imposes sanctions on Syria's Assad". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
The U.S. move, announced by the Treasury Department, freezes any of the Syrian officials' assets that are in the United States or otherwise fall within U.S. jurisdiction and generally bars U.S. individuals and companies from dealing with them.
- ^ "EU imposes sanctions on President Assad". BBC News. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Canada imposes sanctions on Syrian leaders". BBC News. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Speech of H.E. President Bashar al-Assad at Damascus University on the situation in Syria". Syrian Arab News Agency. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012.
- ^ "Assad must go, Obama says". The Washington Post. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "Assad must go: the world unites against Syria's tyrant". The Independent. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ President Obama: "The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way." Archived 23 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine The White House website, 18 August 2011.
- ^ Nour Ali (25 August 2011). "Syrian forces beat up political cartoonist Ali Ferzat". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Prominent Syrian Cartoonist Attacked, Beaten". Voice of America. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Russian vetoes are putting UN security council's legitimacy at risk, says US". The Guardian. 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Russia won't back U.N. call for Syria's Assad to go". Reuters. 27 January 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ Russia and China veto draft Security Council resolution on Syria Archived 29 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine UN website, 4 October 2011.
- ^ Khaled Yacoub Oweis (13 December 2011). "Syria death toll hits 5,000 as insurgency spreads". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Syria's Assad blames 'foreign conspiracy'". BBC News. 10 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ Martin Chulov in Beirut (27 February 2012). "Syria claims 90% of voters backed reforms in referendum". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ Aneja, Atul (17 July 2012). "Russia backs Assad as fighting in Damascus escalates". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "Syria in civil war, Red Cross says". BBC News. 15 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Syrian death toll tops 19,000, say activists". The Guardian. London. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Al-Assad: Enemies of Syria 'will go to hell'". CNN. 6 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ "Syrian Live Blog". Listening Post. Al Jazeera. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Bashar Assad may be weaker than he thinks". The Economist. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
In Latakia and Tartus, two coastal cities near the Alawite heartland, posters of missing soldiers adorn the walls. When IS took over four government bases in the east of the country this summer, slaughtering dozens of soldiers and displaying some of their heads on spikes in Raqqa, IS's stronghold, families started to lose faith in the government. A visitor to the region reports hearing one man complain: "We're running out of sons to give them."
- ^ a b Dziadosz, Alexander; Heneghan, Tom (September 2014). "Pro-government Syrian activist arrested after rare public dissent". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ Westhall, Syliva (18 September 2014). "Assad's army stretched but still seen strong in Syria's war". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ Hadid, Diaa. "Activists Say Assad Supporters Protest in Syria". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ Aziz, Jean (16 October 2014). "Assad dismisses security chief of powerful 'Branch 40'". Al Monitor. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ^ a b Hadid, Diaa (1 November 2014). "Syria's Alawites Pay Heavy Price as They Bury Sons". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ "Car bomb wounds 37 in government-held area of Syria's Homs". Reuters. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Alawites find their voice against Assad". Al Monitor. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Sherlock, Ruth (7 April 2015). "In Syria's war, Alawites pay heavy price for loyalty to Bashar al-Assad". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "Assad relative assassinated in Syria: activists". The Daily Star. Agence France-Presse. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Alajlan, Anas (14 April 2015). "Syria: Bashar al-Assad arrests own cousin Munther 'for kidnapping links'". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ Blanford, Nicholas (21 August 2015). "Can Syria's Assad withstand latest battlefield setbacks? (+video)". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ Flores, Reena (2 May 2015). "Flash Points: Is Syria's Assad losing power?". CBS News. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
"a lot of suspicion within the regime itself about who's doing what and if folks are leaving." [...] "These are signs that I think demonstrate a bit of weakness and instability in the regime that you haven't seen in recent months," he said. He cites the waning support from the nation's minority Alawite community as one of these important shifts.
- ^ Harel, Amos; Cohen, Gili; Khoury, Jack (6 May 2015). "Syrian rebel victories stretch Assad's forces". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
There have also been increasing reports of Assad relatives, businessmen and high-ranking members of the Alawite community fleeing Damascus for the coastal city of Latakia, or other countries, after transferring large sums of money to banks in Lebanon, eastern Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
- ^ Karkouti, Mustapha (9 May 2015). "Time to reconsider 'Life after Al Assad'". Gulf News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
[The] reality on the ground can't be more clear as the population in the regime-controlled parts of Syria are preparing for life after the Al Assad dynasty. According to information received by this author, many businessmen and financiers who flourished under the regime have successfully moved huge amounts of money and capital to neighbouring Lebanon. Some of these funds are now known to have been secretly deposited in Europe.
- ^ Sherlock, Ruth; Malouf, Carol (11 May 2015). "Bashar al-Assad's spy chief arrested over Syria coup plot". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
Mamlouk had also used a businessman from Aleppo as an intermediary to contact Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar's uncle, who has lived abroad exile since he was accused of seeking to mount a coup in Syria in the 1980s.
- ^ Kaileh, Salameh (22 May 2015). "The Syrian regime is slowly being liquidated". Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ Oliphant, Roland; Loveluck, Louisa (4 September 2015). "Vladimir Putin confirms Russian military involvement in Syria's civil war". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Naylor, Hugh (4 September 2015). "Putin says Syria's president is ready for elections, compromise". The Washington Post. Beirut. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ a b Borshchevskaya, Anna (2022). "6: The Military Campaign". Putin's War in Syria. 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK: I. B. Tauris. pp. 69–88. ISBN 978-0-7556-3463-7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Путин назвал основную задачу российских военных в Сирии (in Russian). Interfax. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ "Syria crisis: Assad says no transition while 'terrorists' remain". BBC News. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ ВКС РФ за два месяца добились большего прогресса в Сирии, чем альянс США за год [Russian air force have in two months achieved more progress in Syria that the U.S. alliance in a year]. Kommersant (in Russian). 22 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- ^ "Rozhovor s Bašárem Asadem". Czech Television (in Czech). Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Асад обвинил Турцию, Саудовскую Аравию и Катар в поддержке террористов в Сирии. newsru.com (in Russian). 2 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "U.S. sees bearable costs, key goals met for Russia in Syria so far". Reuters. 28 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ "Putin claims support to Syrian rebels". DW News. Deutsche Welle. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ "Vladimir Putin asked Bashar al-Assad to step down". Financial Times. 22 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ^ "Putin Requested Assad Step Aside, But Syrian Leader Refused". The Moscow Times. 22 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ DuVall, Eric (3 December 2016). "Assad's forces retake half of rebel-held Aleppo". United Press International. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Aleppo siege: Syria rebels lose 50% of territory". BBC. 3 December 2016. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "Evacuation agreement reached in Aleppo, rebel group says". Fox 6 Now. Fox News. 17 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "U.S. priority on Syria no longer focused on "getting Assad out": Haley". Reuters. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ Treene, Alayna (6 April 2017). "Tillerson: U.S. will lead coalition to oust Assad". Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Syria's Assad Calls U.S. Airstrikes an Outrageous Act". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Syria's Assad says Idlib chemical attack 'fabrication': AFP interview". Reuters. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ Phillips, Ian; Isachenkov, Vladimir (2 June 2017). "Putin: Syria chemical attack was provocation against Assad". ABC News United States. American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Steve Almasy; Richard Roth. "UN: Syria responsible for sarin attack that killed scores". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ Friedman, Lisa (7 November 2017). "Syria Joins Paris Climate Accord, Leaving Only U.S. Opposed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Syria recognizes Georgia's breakaway regions". Deutsche Welle. 30 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Georgia Severs Relations With Syria For Recognizing Abkhazia, South Ossetia". rferl.org. 29 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Canada concerned by Syria's recognition of Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia". Government of Canada. 2 June 2018. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018.
- ^ AFP, French Press Agency- (30 August 2020). "Syria's Assad designates new government headed by PM Arnous". Daily Sabah. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Kossaify, Ephrem (22 April 2021). "UN reiterates it is not involved in Syrian presidential election". Arab News. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021.
- ^ Walker, Nigel (9 June 2021). "Syria: 2021 presidential election and future prospects" (PDF). House of Commons Library. pp. 4–15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023 – via UK Parliament.
- ^ "Syria's Assad wins 4th term with 95% of vote, in election the West calls fraudulent". Reuters. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Syria Events of 2021". Human Rights Watch. 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023.
- ^ a b Lister, Charles (10 May 2021). "US policy in Syria in 2021". Asharq al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Syria's Assad asks PM Arnous to form new cabinet". Reuters. 1 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Syria's Assad says Russia's Ukraine invasion a 'correction of history'". Al-Arabiya News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022.
- ^ "General Assembly Overwhelmingly Adopts Resolution Demanding Russian Federation Immediately End Illegal Use of Force in Ukraine, Withdraw All Troops". United Nations. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022.
- ^ Makki, Danny (9 March 2022). "Syria's role in Putin's invasion of Ukraine". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022.
- ^ "Syria to recognize Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions". Associated Press. 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Syria recognizes independence, sovereignty of Donetsk, Luhansk -state news agency". Reuters. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Syria first country other than Russia to recognise Ukraine separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk". WIO News. 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Assad meets Putin in Moscow as Syrians mark 12 years since anti-regime uprising". France 24. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Zelenskiy Announces Sanctions On Hundreds Of Individuals, Including Syrian President, Iranian Drone Makers". rferl.org. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Assad welcomes new Russian bases in Syria after Putin meeting". Al Jazeera. 16 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023.
- ^ Faulconbridge, Davis, Guy, Caleb (16 March 2023). "Syria's Assad would like more Russian bases and troops". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Assad: Syria recognizes Russia's new borders". teletrader.com. 16 March 2023. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023.
- ^ "Assad Welcomes New Russian Bases in Syria, Recognizes Russian Annexations in Ukraine". Havana Times. 16 March 2023. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023.
- ^ Khan, Minal (16 March 2023). "Assad Says Syria Recognizes New Russian Borders Following Accession Of New Regions". Pakistan Point. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023.
- ^ "Syria's Assad in UAE as Second Post-Quake Gulf Visit Signals Growing Arab Outreach". VOA News. 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Syria's Assad wins warm welcome at Arab summit after years of isolation". Reuters. 19 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "Syria's Bashar al Assad and wife laugh and wave at Asian Games opening ceremony amid China talks". Sky News. 23 September 2023. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "Leaders of Syria and China announce strategic partnership as part of Asian Games diplomacy". Associated Press. 22 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "2011 – CPI". Transparency.org. 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020.
- ^ M. Sadowski, Yahya (1987). "Patronage and the Ba'th: Corruption and Control in Contemporary Syria". Arab Studies Quarterly. 9 (4): 442–461. JSTOR 41857946 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Bashar al-Assad's inner circle". BBC News. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022.
- ^ Gersh, Nick (6 February 2017). "The Role of Corruption in the Syrian Civil War". GAB. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017.
- ^ Allam, Saber, Ashraf, Salah (2019). Assad's Survival: The Symbol Of Resisting The Arab Spring. 16 Faisal City, Almontaza, Alexandria, Egypt: Lamar. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-977-85412-3-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hadid, Diaa (2 November 2014). "Assad's Syria Truncated, Battered, but Defiant". Abc News. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ "Syria 'disintegrating under crippling sanctions'". BBC News. 19 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ Croft, Adrian (21 October 2014). "EU targets ministers, UAE firm in latest Syria sanctions". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ Korte, Gregory (16 October 2014). "Tightened sanctions target Syrian human rights abuses". USA Today. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (4 July 2012). "Syria reverts to socialist economic policies to ease tension". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ "Local ceasefires best way to ease Syrians' suffering: researchers". Reuters. 10 November 2014. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ Yazigi, Jihad (7 April 2014). "Syria's War Economy" (PDF). European Council on Foreign Relations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (28 May 2014). "Syria's economy heads into ruin: U.N. sponsored report". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ Naylor, Hugh (29 November 2014). "Syria's Assad regime cuts subsidies, focuses ailing economy on war effort". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Daou, Rita (17 October 2014). "Glitzy mall sparks anger from Assad backers". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ Blair, David (12 December 2014). "EU tries to ground Bashar al-Assad's warplanes by banning fuel supplies". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ "Changes to Syria's Business Elite Concentrates Wealth in Hands of Presidential Couple". The Syria Report. 15 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022.
- ^ Cornish, Khattab, Chloe, Asser (25 July 2019). "Syria's Assad puts pressure on business elite". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jalabi, Raya (2023). "Syria's state capture: the rising influence of Mrs Assad". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Middle East corruption rankings: Syria most corrupt, UAE least, Turkey slipped". Al-Monitor. 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023.
- ^ "Syria, Yemen and Libya among 'lowest in the world' for corruption perceptions". The New Arab. 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023.
- ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index". Transparency International. 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023.
- ^ Allam, Saber, Ashraf, Salah (2019). "The domestic structure of the regime". Assad's Survival: The Symbol Of Resisting The Arab Spring. 16 Faisal City, Almontaza, Alexandria, Egypt: Lamar. pp. 27–30. ISBN 978-977-85412-3-6.
Because he lacks his father's leadership skills... Bashar may settle for consensus among his junta of Alawi officers... When Bashar assumed office he attempted to consolidate power through "authoritarian upgrading".. However, the conservative military establishment and senior members of the regime were not favorable to Bashar's reforms, which forced Bashar to retire such senior personnel in order to further consolidate his power. But Bashar struggled to appoint new and loyal staff, his Ba'athist regime became increasingly like a sectarian family clan
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
- ^ "Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 8 May 2014. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
The regime aims to compel people to take refuge in their sectarian and communitarian identities; to split each community into competing branches, dividing those who support it from those who oppose it
- ^ a b Robson, Antonia (3 May 2021). "The Mobilisation of Sectarian Identities in the Syrian Civil War". E-International Relations. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022.
- ^ Meuse, Alison (18 April 2015). "Syria's Minorities: Caught Between Sword Of ISIS And Wrath of Assad". NPR. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
Karim Bitar, a Middle East analyst at Paris think tank IRIS [...] says [...] "Minorities are often used as a shield by authoritarian regimes, who try to portray themselves as protectors and as a bulwark"
- ^ Ümit Üngör, Uğur (9 February 2022). "The Specter of Sectarian Violence in Syria". NPR. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Hokayem, Emile (24 August 2016). "Assad or We Burn the Country". War on the rocks. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022.
- ^ Hokayem, Emile (24 August 2016). "Assad or We Burn the Country". E-International Relations. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Hill, Evan (16 July 2010). "Syria slammed on human rights". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "A Wasted Decade: Human Rights in Syria during Bashar al-Asad's First Ten Years in Power". Human Rights Watch. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015.
- ^ "A Wasted Decade". Human Rights Watch. 16 July 2010. pp. 4, 8. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – Syria". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012.
- ^ Luca, Ana Maria (21 May 2015). "Syria's secret prisoners". NOW News. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ "How Syria controls its dissidents – Banning travel". The Economist. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
- ^ Cambanis, Thanassis (14 December 2007). "Challenged, Syria Extends Crackdown on Dissent". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Syria bans face veils at universities". BBC News. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "Veil ban: Why Syria joins Europe in barring the niqab". The Christian Science Monitor. 20 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Syria relaxes veil ban for teachers". The Guardian. Associated Press. 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Michael Bröning (7 March 2011). "The Sturdy House That Assad Built". Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023.
- ^ a b Entous, Nissenbaum, Adam, Dion (25 July 2014). "10,000 Bodies: Inside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Crackdown". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "UN votes to establish independent body to clarify fate of over 130 000 Syrians missing in conflict". The Week. 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023.
- ^ Kossaify, Ephrem (30 June 2023). "In milestone decision, UN creates institution for Syria's missing and disappeared". Arab News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023.
- ^ M. Lederer, Edith (30 June 2023). "UN votes to establish independent body to clarify fate of over 130,000 Syrians missing in conflict". AP News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Joint statement by Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on instituting proceedings at the International Court of Justice to hold Syria to account for torture". Government of Netherlands. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands jointly institute proceedings against the Syrian Arab Republic and request the Court to indicate provisional measures" (PDF). International Court of Justice.org. 12 June 2023. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Canada and the Kingdom of Netherlands vs. the Syrian Arab Republic" (PDF). International Court of Justice.org. 8 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2023.
- ^ "Canada and Netherlands take Syria to ICJ over alleged torture". The National. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Syria: Investigate Killing of Kurds". Human RIghts Watch. 23 March 2008. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Bashar Al-Assad, President, Syria". Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
- ^ a b "10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger". Committee to Protect Journalists. 30 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Red lines that cannot be crossed – The authorities don't want you to read or see too much". The Economist. 24 July 2008. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ Jennifer Preston (9 February 2011). "Syria Restores Access to Facebook and YouTube". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Internet Enemies – Syria". Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- ^ "10 Most Censored Countries". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 July 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ A. Kennedy, Jordans, Elizabeth, Frank (2 December 2011). "UN: Syria now in a civil war". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Bassem Mroue (18 April 2011). "Bashar Assad Resignation Called For By Syria Sit-In Activists". HuffPost. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Arab League to offer 'safe exit' if Assad resigns". CNN. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ Yacoubian, Mona (1 January 2021). "Syria Timeline: Since the Uprising Against Assad". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Syria Refugee Crisis Explained". UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.
- ^ "Syria Refugee Crisis". Archived from the original on 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b J. Koulouriotis, Eva (22 May 2022). "Assad: Master of ethnic cleansing in the 21st century". Syria Wise. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
- ^ Chulov, Mahmood, Martin, Mona (22 July 2013). "Syrian Sunnis fear Assad regime wants to 'ethnically cleanse' Alawite heartland". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Nakhoul, Samia (12 June 2012). "Insight: Syria massacres, ethnic cleansing that may backfire". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021.
- ^ Hamad, Sam (30 June 2017). "Daraa 'de-escalation' masks Assad's ethnic cleansing in Syria". New Arab. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022.
- ^ El-Bar, Karim (5 September 2016). "'Ethnic cleansing on an unprecedented scale': Rebels, UN criticise Assad tactics". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021.
- ^ *"Assad, Iran, Russia committed 91% of civilian killings in Syria". Middle East Monitor. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023.
- "Civilian Death Toll". SNHR. September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022.
- "91 percent of civilian deaths caused by Syrian regime and Russian forces: rights group". The New Arab. 19 June 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023.
- "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Syria". U.S Department of State. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
- Roth, Kenneth (9 January 2017). "Barack Obama's Shaky Legacy on Human Rights". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021.*
- "The Regional War in Syria: Summary of Caabu event with Christopher Phillips". Council for Arab-British Understanding. Archived from the original on 9 December 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Syria". Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
- ^ * "Record of Arbitrary Arrests". SNHR. March 2023. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023.
- "On the 12th Anniversary of the Popular Uprising". ReliefWeb. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023.
- Mustafa, Wafa (18 May 2023). "Assad's regime took my father. Normalising relations feels like an attempt to rewrite history". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023.
- "Humans not Numbers". ReliefWeb. 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023.
- "Seven reasons why normalizing with Assad is a shameful, terrible move". The Syria campaign. 18 May 2023. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023.
- ^ Al Ibrahim, Skaf, Ali, Mohamad. "Delayed Execution: The Syrian Regime Detains Minors in Prisons to Execute Them Upon Reaching 18". SIRAJ. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Syria regime detained children until 18 before executing them under 'terrorism' law, investigation reveals". Middle East Monitor. 29 October 2024. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Hokayem, Emile (24 August 2016). ""Assad or We Burn the Country"". War on the rocks. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022.
- ^ Holland, Jack (2020). "7: Proxy War". Selling War and Peace: Syria and the Anglosphere. New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press. p. 211. ISBN 9781108489249.
- ^ Dagher, Sam (2019). "15: Don't Stay with the Butcher". Assad Or We Burn the Country: How One Family's Lust for Power Destroyed Syria. Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-55670-5.
- ^ Tibi, Bassam (2013). The Shari'a State: Arab Spring and Democratization. Third Avenue, New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66216-1.
- ^ Warrick, Jobby (2021). Red Line. New York, US: Doubleday. ISBN 9780385544467.
- ^ Rogin, Josh (15 December 2014). "U.S. says Europeans killed by Assad's death machine". Chicago Tribune. Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "UN implicates Bashar al-Assad in Syria war crimes". BBC News. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ Pileggi, Tamar (15 December 2014). "FBI says Europeans tortured by Assad regime". Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ Anna, Cara (11 March 2015). "US: War Crimes Case Vs. Assad Better Than One for Milosevic". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "'There are no barrel bombs': Assad's Syria 'facts'". Channel Four News. 10 February 2015. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ Bowen, Jeremy (15 February 2014). "What does Assad really think about Syria's civil war?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ Bell, Matthew (4 February 2014). "What are 'barrel bombs' and why is the Syrian military using them?". PRI. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Allam, Saber, Ashraf, Salah (2019). "The domestic structure of the regime". Assad's Survival: The Symbol Of Resisting The Arab Spring. 16 Faisal City, Almontaza, Alexandria, Egypt: Lamar. pp. 29–38. ISBN 978-977-85412-3-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Iran spends billions to prop up Assad". TDA. Bloomberg. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ Dettmer, Jamie (19 June 2015). "A Damning Indictment of Syrian President Assad's Systematic Massacres". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ Allam, Saber, Ashraf, Salah (2019). "The domestic structure of the regime". Assad's Survival: The Symbol Of Resisting The Arab Spring. 16 Faisal City, Almontaza, Alexandria, Egypt: Lamar. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-977-85412-3-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Nebehay, Stephanie (10 June 2014). "Assad tops list of Syria war crimes suspects handed to ICC: former prosecutor". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ Swart, Mia (15 March 2021). "National courts lead the way in prosecuting Syrian war crimes". Al Jazeera News. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022.
- ^ Talagrand, Pauline (30 September 2015). "France opens probe into Assad regime for crimes against humanity". Yahoo News. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ Larson, Nina (8 February 2016). "UN probe accuses Syria govt of 'exterminating' detainees". Yahoo News. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ Pecquet, Julian (1 March 2016). "Congress goes after Assad for war crimes". Al Monitor. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Loveluck, Louisa (8 June 2018). "Germany seeks arrest of leading Syrian general on war crimes charges". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ Shahhoud, Annsar; Ümit Üngör, Uğur (27 April 2022). "How a Massacre of Nearly 300 in Syria Was Revealed". New Lines Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ a b c SURK, BARBARA; TURNBULL, ALEX (26 June 2024). "Paris court upholds validity of France's arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad". Associated Press.
- ^ Loveluck, Louisa (17 February 2019). "Syrian army responsible for Douma chemical weapons attack, watchdog confirms". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019.
- ^ Burke, Michael (17 February 2019). "Syria used chemical weapons more than 300 times, researchers say". The Hill. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019.
- ^ Schneider, Lutkefend, Tobias, Theresa (February 2019). "Nowhere to Hide: The Logic of Chemical Weapons Use in Syria" (PDF). pp. 1–47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2022 – via GPPi.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lombardo, Clare (17 February 2019). "More Than 300 Chemical Attacks Launched During Syrian Civil War, Study Says". NPR. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023.
- ^ "Syria and the OPCW". OPCW. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023.
- ^ Corder, Mike (21 April 2021). "States suspend Syria's OPCW rights over chemical attacks". AP News. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Conference of the States Parties adopts Decision to suspend certain rights and privileges of the Syrian Arab Republic under the CWC". OPCW. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Decision addressing the Possession and Use of Chemical Weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic" (PDF). 22 April 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2022 – via OPCW.
- ^ "OPCW Confirms Chemical Weapons Use in Syria". Arms Control Association. July 2021. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022.
- ^ "Syria has likely used chemical weapons 17 times: International chemical weapons watchdog". The Hindu. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021.
- ^ "Security Council Deems Syria's Chemical Weapon's Declaration Incomplete". United Nations: Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023.
- ^ "Fifth Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention". European Union External Action. 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023.
- ^ Ashraf, Sareta (22 August 2022). "Nine Years Since Ghouta: Reflecting on the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022.
- ^ Hubbard, Mazzetti, Landler, Ben, Mark, Mark (26 August 2013). "Blasts in the Night, a Smell, and a Flood of Syrian Victims". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Attacks on Ghouta". Human Rights Watch. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022.
- ^ S.B. (21 August 2013). "Syria's war: If this isn't a red line, what is?". The Economist. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Syria gas attack: death toll at 1,400 worst since Halabja". The Week. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
- ^ "Ninth Anniversary of the Ghouta, Syria Chemical Weapons Attack". U.S. Department of State. 21 August 2022. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023.
- ^ Bronner 2007, p. 63.
- ^ "Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 8 May 2014. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
The regime aims to compel people to take refuge in their sectarian and communitarian identities; to split each community into competing branches, dividing those who support it from those who oppose it
- ^ Lauren Said-Moorhouse; Sarah Tilotta. "Airstrike to US intervention: How attack unfolded". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ "Syria war: Why was Shayrat airbase bombed?". BBC News. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ Campos, Rodrigo (27 October 2017). "Syrian government to blame for April sarin attack: U.N. report". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ Gladstone, Rick (13 April 2018). "U.S. Says Syria Has Used Chemical Weapons at Least 50 Times During War". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ Cooper, Helene; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Hubbard, Ben (13 April 2018). "U.S., Britain and France Strike Syria Over Suspected Chemical Weapons Attack". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Silkoff, Shira (20 December 2023). "Syria's Assad claims Holocaust was a lie fabricated to justify creation of Israel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Syrian President Assad denies Holocaust and accuses U.S. of funding Nazis in controversial speech". i24news. 20 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Syria Opposition Expands, Closes Meeting". Naharnet. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013.
- ^ "Syrian activists form a 'national council'". CNN. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ Sayigh, Yezid (April 2013). "The Syrian Opposition's Leadership Problem" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. pp. 1–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Guide to the Syrian opposition". BBC News. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023.
- ^ Daher, Joseph (30 October 2020). "Syria's Labor Communist Party, a rich political history". Syria Untold. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Druse ex-MK: Syrian brethren not abandoned by Assad". The Jerusalem Post. 21 January 2016.
- ^ "The 'neutral' Druze sheikh angering Syria's regime". The New Arab. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Six Syria regime loyalists killed after Druze cleric assassinated". The Times of Israel. AFP and AP. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ a b Abdulhamid, Ammar (5 February 2024). "The Syrian Conflict". The Cambridge Journal of Law, Politics, and Art – via cjlpa.org.
- ^ "Protests in southern Syria as economy worsens". Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ a b Sinjab, Lina (24 August 2023). "Syria: Protests over growing economic hardship spread in south". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "Syria Protests Spurred by Economic Misery Stir Memories of the 2011 Anti-Government Uprising". Asharq al-Awsat. 29 August 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023.
- ^ al-Mahmoud, Hussam (12 February 2024). "Six months into As-Suwayda uprising, What is the future of street protests?". Enab Baladi. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024.
- ^ al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad (5 December 2014). "To defeat the Islamic State we must first remove Bashar al-Assad". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022.
- ^ Awad, Ziad (2023). The 2022 Syrian Local Elections: A Leadership Rooted in Regime Networks. San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy: European University Institute. pp. 5–20. doi:10.2870/52247. ISBN 978-92-9466-358-0.
- ^ Yonker, Solomon, Carl, Christopher. "The Banality of Authoritarian Control: Syria's Ba'ath Party Marches On". carnegieendowment.org. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Al-Assad: The Presidency That Never Ends". Civil Rights Defenders. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023.
- ^ Awad, Ziad (2023). The 2022 Syrian Local Elections: A Leadership Rooted in Regime Networks. San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy: European University Institute. pp. 5–20. doi:10.2870/52247. ISBN 978-92-9466-358-0.
- ^ "Loyalty to Assad runs deep on Syrian coast Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine". The Christian Science Monitor. 22 January 2014.
- ^ "Syria's Christians stand by Assad". CBS News. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ Ahmad, Rozh (23 September 2014). "A glimpse into the world of Syria's Christian "Sutoro" fighters (video)". Your Middle East. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
The regime wants us to be puppets, deny our ethnicity and demand an Arab-only state.
- ^ Rosen, Nir. "Assad's Alawites: The guardians of the throne". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ Syria's Alawites: The People Behind Assad Archived 26 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2015.
- ^ Wyatt, Caroline (4 April 2016). "Syrian Alawites distance themselves from Assad". BBC News. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ Richmond, Walter (2013). "8: The Road to Sochi". The Circassian Genocide. New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA: Rutgers University Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-8135-6068-7.
- ^ Bronstein, Scott; Griffin, Drew (26 September 2014). "Syrian rebel groups unite to fight ISIS". CNN. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
Under the agreement, moderate Muslim rebel groups fighting under the Supreme Military Council of Syria agreed to form an alliance with the predominantly Christian Syriac Military Council.
- ^ Cousins, Sophie (22 December 2014). "Remaining Christians in Syria fight to save their land". USA Today. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ Michaelson, Tondo, Ruth, Lorenzo (13 February 2023). "Syrian rebel leader pleads for outside help a week on from earthquakes". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Syria's 2014 Presidential Election Ignored in Opposition-Held Areas". HuffPost. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Wladimir van Wilgenburg. "Syria's Kurdish region to boycott presidential elections". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ "Supreme Constitutional Court: Number of participants in Presidential elections reached at 11.634.412 with 73.42%". Damascus. Syrian Arab News Agency. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ Evans, Dominic (28 April 2014). "Assad seeks re-election as Syrian civil war rages". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Cheeseman, Nicholas (2019). How to Rig an Election. Yale University Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0-300-24665-0. OCLC 1089560229.
- ^ Norris, Pippa; Martinez i Coma, Ferran; Grömping, Max (2015). "The Year in Elections, 2014". Election Integrity Project. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
The Syrian election ranked as worst among all the contests held during 2014.
- ^ Jones, Mark P. (2018). Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 978-0190258658. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... al-Assad's 2014 election... occurred within an authoritarian context.
- ^ Makdisi, Marwan (16 July 2014). "Confident Assad launches new term in stronger position". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "Syria's Assad reelected with 88.7% of vote Archived 26 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine". The Times of Israel. 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Interview with Former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam". NewsWeek. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Daesh was nurtured by Iran, says former Syrian vice president". Arab News. 6 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016.
- ^ Bowen, Jeremy (2013). "Prologue: Before the Spring". The Arab Uprisings: The People Want the Fall of the Regime. Simon & Schuster. pp. 14, 15, 118. ISBN 978-1471129827.
- ^ a b Fisher, Marc (16 June 2012). "Syria's Assad has embraced pariah status". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012.
- ^ Jung, Dietrich; Seeberg, Peter; Beck, Martin (2016). "5: The Crisis in Syria, International and Regional Sanctions, and the Transformation of the Political Order in the Levant". The Levant in Turmoil: Syria, Palestine, and the Transformation of Middle Eastern Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-1-349-57628-9.
- ^ Khan, Hamzah (24 November 2021). "Focus on Pariah Leaders: Bashar al-Assad". The Diplomatic Envoy. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022.
- ^ C. Tucker, Spencer (2016). U.S Conflicts in The 21st Centiry (Volume 1). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 834, 835. ISBN 978-1-4408-3878-1.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (12 November 2011). "Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Syria suspends its membership in Mediterranean union". Xinhua News Agency. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011.
- ^ "Regional group votes to suspend Syria; rebels claim downing of jet". CNN. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ "OIC Suspends Syria Over Crackdown". RFE/RL. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023.
- ^ Jung, Dietrich; Seeberg, Peter; Beck, Martin (2016). "5: The Crisis in Syria, International and Regional Sanctions, and the Transformation of the Political Order in the Levant". The Levant in Turmoil: Syria, Palestine, and the Transformation of Middle Eastern Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 101–122. ISBN 978-1-349-57628-9.
- ^ "UK's William Hague attacks Assad's Syria elections plan". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ "Syrian election will undermine political solution: U.N.'s Ban". Reuters. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "US Condemns Syria for Recognizing Georgia's Breakaway Regions". Voice of America. 30 May 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023.
- ^ "Georgia Severs Relations With Syria For Recognizing Abkhazia, South Ossetia". rferl.org. 29 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Syria recognises Russian-backed Georgia regions". BBC News. 29 May 2018. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Ukraine's Zelenskyy cuts ties with Syria after it recognized separatist republics". Al Arabiya. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Syria After It Recognizes Eastern Regions As Independent". rferl.org. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky imposes sanctions against Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, other officials". The Kyiv Independent. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023.
- ^ "Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 163/2023". Office of the President of Ukraine. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Zelenskyy introduces sanctions against Syria's Assad". Anadolu Agency. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Ukraine's Zelensky imposes sanctions on Syria's Assad, other officials". The New Arab. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Ukraine sanctions Syrian dictator Assad, hundreds of other individuals and entities". TVP World. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Syria, a close Russia ally, breaks diplomatic ties with Ukraine". Al Jazeera. 20 July 2022.
- ^ "France to try senior Assad allies for crimes against humanity in Syria". France 24. 4 April 2023. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023.
- ^ "France to try Syrian regime officials for crimes against humanity". Al Jazeera. 5 April 2023. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023.
- ^ Jarry, Emmanuel (5 November 2018). "France issues arrest warrants for senior Syrian officials". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023.
- ^ "Syria's Assad should be put on trial, says French foreign minister". France 24. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023.
- ^ "French minister demands Assad trial". Daily Tribune. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023.
- ^ Harkin, Juliette (1 May 2018). "'Assadism' Is Destroying Syria – Here's Where It Came From". The Wire. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021.
- ^ "The statement of the Arab Baath Socialist Party of Egyptian on the aggression against Syria". Aladhwaa. 7 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Achcar, Gilbert (8 October 2013). "Syria between Revolutions and Counter-Revolutions". CETRI. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016.
- ^ MacDonald, Alex (2 December 2014). "Europe's far-right activists continue to throw their weight behind Syria's Assad". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Disgraced U.K. politician's visit to Syria raises eyebrows back home". Haaretz. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ MacDonald, Alex (2 December 2014). "Europe's far-right activists continue to throw their weight behind Syria's Assad". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
...the Syrian government attempted to distance themselves from Nick Griffin last time he visited..
- ^ "President Assad receives Congratulations from the President of Belarus: Confidence in Syria Elimination of Current Crisis".
- ^ Hashemi & Postel 2013, p. 11–13.
- ^ Hashemi & Postel 2013, p. 231.
- ^ "North Korean leader offers support to Assad". Deutsche Welle. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Venezuela congratulated by Bashar Al Assad in Syrian presidential victory". lainfo.es. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "syriatimes.sy – President Assad Receives Congratulations from President Bouteflika on Winning Elections". syriatimes.sy. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء - Syrian Arab News Agency". Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ Hazem al-Sabbagh (23 June 2014). "President al-Assad receives congratulatory cable from South African President Zuma". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Nicaragua's Ortega Congratulates President Al-Assad on Winning Elections". syriatimes.sy.
- ^ h.said (25 June 2014). "President al-Assad receives congratulatory letter from President Abbas". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Abbas congratulates Al-Assad for re-election as Syrian president". Middle East Monitor. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Abbas says he backs Syria's "war against terrorism"". Al Akhbar English. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Iran Increases Aid to PFLP Thanks to Syria Stance". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Pro-Assad Palestinians call for Yarmouk truce". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ a b Carter, Bill; Chozick, Amy (10 June 2012). "Syria's Assads Turned to West for Glossy P.R." The New York Times.
- ^ Max Fisher (3 January 2012). "The Only Remaining Online Copy of Vogue's Asma al-Assad Profile". The Atlantic.
- ^ Joan Juliet Buck. "Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert". Gawker. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015.
- ^ a b Ajbaili, Mustapha (14 September 2013). "Assad makes PR comeback, targets 'American psyche'". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
Assad's regime also activated its YouTube channel and multiple Facebook accounts.
- ^ Gallagher, Sean (8 February 2012). "Anonymous exposes e-mails of Syrian presidential aides". Ars Technica. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Booth, Robert; Mahmood, Mona; Harding, Luke (14 March 2013). "Exclusive: secret Assad emails lift lid on life of leader's inner circle". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
Before a speech in December his media consultant prepared a long list of themes, reporting that the advice was based on "consultations with a good number of people in addition to the media and political adviser for the Iranian ambassador".
- ^ Rowell, Alex (18 May 2015). "International relations". NOW News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Dewey, Caitlin (30 July 2013). "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad joined Instagram. Here are his first photos". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Jones, Allie (30 August 2013). "The Failed Public Relations Campaign of Bashar al Assad's Family". The Wire. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
a propaganda campaign that ultimately has made the family look worse
- ^ "Assad emails: 'Fares closed all your Twitter accounts'". The Guardian. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Jones, Johnathan (6 September 2013). "The Syrian presidency's Instagram account shows the banality of evil". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Mackey, Robert (15 March 2012). "Syria's First Couple and the Banality of E-Mail". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Khalaf, Roula (18 March 2012). "Assad: faithful student of ruthlessness". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Isikoff, Michael Abdel (13 October 2014). "Inside Bashar Assad's Torture Chambers". Yahoo News. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Photos Presented to the House Foreign Affairs Committee by "Caesar" at Briefing on "Assad's Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy"". House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Mick Krever; Schams Elwazer (20 January 2014). "Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime". CNN. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ Simpson, John (6 November 2014). "Assad's allies invent British jihadi death". The Times. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Syria's Assad in surprise visit to Moscow". Al Jazeera.
- ^ Rafizadeh, Majid (17 April 2013). "How Bashar al-Assad Became So Hated". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "The road to Damascus (all the way from Acton)". BBC News. 31 October 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Syria factfile: Key figures". The Daily Telegraph. London. 24 February 2003. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Сын Башара Асада с отличием окончил МГУ". Rbc.ru (in Russian). 29 June 2023.
- ^ Fisher, Max (28 January 2013). "Syria's Bashar al-Assad says his wife is pregnant". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Black, Ian (29 January 2013). "Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma 'pregnant with fourth child'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Baltacioglu-Brammer, Ayse (January 2014). "Alawites and the Fate of Syria". Current Events in Historical Perspective. 7 (4). Ohio State University: 2. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ Litvak, Meir (2006). Middle Eastern Societies and the West: Accommodation of Clash of Civilizations?. The Moshe Dayan Center. ISBN 978-965-224-073-6.
- ^ "Syrian president's mother Anissa Assad dies aged 86". Al Jazeera. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (20 April 2018). "A French Honor Not Always for the Honorable; Assad Returns His". The New York Times.
- ^ "La France engage la procédure pour retirer sa Légion d'honneur à Bachar Al-Assad". Le Monde.fr (in French). Le Monde. 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Bachar al-Assad rend sa Légion d'honneur à la France, "esclave des Etats-Unis"". Le Parisien (in French). 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Про нагородження орденом князя Ярослава Мудрого - від 20 April 2002 № 362/2002". rada.gov.ua.
- ^ Beshara, Louai (21 March 2004). "SYRIA-ASSAD-BOURBON" (in Romanian). mediafaxfoto.ro. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Beshara, Louai (21 March 2004). "181414500". Getty Images. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ رئيس دولة الامارات يقلد الرئيس السوري وسام زايد تعبيرا عن عمق العلاقات التي تربط البلدين (in Arabic). Al Watan Voice. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "Syyrian sotarikoksista syytetyllä presidentillä Suomen korkein kunniamerkki" (in Finnish). savonsanomat.fi. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ القمــــــــــة الســـــــــورية الســـــــــعودية... الرئيس الأسد وخادم الحرمين الشريفين يبحثان آفاق التعاون ويتبادلان أرفع وسامين وطنيين.. تعزيز العمل العربي المشترك - رفع الحصار عن الفلسطينيين (in Arabic). Al Thawra. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "Dettaglio decorato: Al-Assad S.E. Bashar Decorato di Gran Cordone" (in Italian). quirinale.it. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ ATTO CAMERA INTERROGAZIONE A RISPOSTA SCRITTA 4/17085 Archived 18 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine Banchedati.camera.it (in Italian)
- ^ "Gaceta Oficial 39.454 lunes 28 de junio 2010" [Official Gazette 39.454 Monday 28 June 2010] (in Spanish). Aporrea. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Venezuela: Chávez's Authoritarian Legacy". Human Rights Watch. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Diário Oficial da União – Seção" (in Portuguese). Superintenência de Seguros Privados. 13 July 2010. ISSN 1677-7042. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "President Michel Suleiman hosts Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz". Marada-news.org. 31 July 2010. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014.
- ^ "Iran Awards Syrian Leader Highest Medal of Honor". Voice of America. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Syrian President Awarded Iran's Medal of Honor". CBN News. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to visit South Ossetia". OC Media. 31 July 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
General and cited references
- Blanford, Nicholas (2006). Killing Mr Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-202-8.
- Bronner, Stephen Eric (2007). Peace Out of Reach: Middle Eastern Travels and the Search for Reconciliation. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2446-9.
- Hashemi, Nader; Postel, Danny, eds. (2013). The Syria Dilemma. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-02683-3.
- Heydemann, Steven; Leenders, Reinoud (2013). Middle East Authoritarianisms: Governance, Contestation, and Regime Resilience in Syria and Iran. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-9333-9.
- Leverett, Flynt L. (2005). Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial By Fire. Brookings Institution. ISBN 978-0-8157-5204-2.
- Lesch, David W. (2011). Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18651-2.
- Mammone, Andrea; Godin, Emmanuel; Jenkins, Brian, eds. (2012). Mapping the Extreme Right in Contemporary Europe: From Local to Transnational. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-50265-8.
- Ma'oz, Moshe; Ginat, Joseph; Winckler, Onn (1999). Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 1-898723-83-4.
- Mikaberidze, Alexander, ed. (2013). Atrocities, Massacres, and War Crimes: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-925-7.
- Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A–C. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-32109-2.
- Moosa, Matti (1987). Extremist Shiites: The Ghulat Sects. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2411-0.
- Pierret, Thomas (2013). Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni Ulama from Coup to Revolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-60990-7.
- Sadiki, Larbi (2014). Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring: Rethinking Democratization. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-52391-2.
- Seale, Patrick; McConville, Maureen (1992). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-06976-3.
- Tucker, Spencer C.; Roberts, Priscilla (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-841-5.
- Zisser, Eyal (2007). Commanding Syria: Bashar Al-Asad And the First Years in Power. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-153-3.
Further reading
- Abboud, Samer (2015). Syria (Hot Spots in Global Politics). Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-9797-0.
- Belhadj, Souhaïl (2013). La Syrie de Bashar Al-Asad : Anatomie d'un régime autoritaire [Bashar's Syria: Anatomy of an Authoritarian Regime] (in French). Belin. ISBN 978-2-7011-6467-0.
- Hinnebusch, Raymond (2002). Syria: Revolution From Above. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-28568-1.
- Perthes, Volker (2005). Syria Under Bashar Al-Asad: Modernisation and the Limits of Change. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-19-856750-9.
- Tabler, Andrew (2011). In the Lion's Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle with Syria. Zephyr Press. ISBN 978-1-56976-843-3.
Reports
- Yossi Baidatz (August 2001). Bashar's First Year: From Ophthalmology to a National Vision (PDF) (Report). Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ASIN B0006RVLNM. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- Annette Büchs (March 2009). The Resilience of Authoritarian Rule in Syria under Hafez and Bashar Al-Asad (PDF) (Report). German Institute of Global and Area Studies. 97. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
Articles
- Abdelnour, Ziad K. (12 April 2003). "Syria's Proxy Forces in Iraq". Al-Hayat.
- "Profile: Syria's Bashar al-Assad". BBC News. 10 March 2005.
- Harris, William (Summer 2005). "Bashar al-Assad's Lebanon Gamble". Middle East Quarterly.
- Pan, Esther (10 March 2006). "Syria's Leaders". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 19 July 2006.
- "Interview With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad". The Wall Street Journal. 31 January 2011.
- "Profile: Bashar al-Assad". Al Jazeera. 25 March 2011.
- Rose, Charlie (9 September 2013). "Interview with Bashar Hafez al-Assad". PBS. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
- Official website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Bashar al-Assad at IMDb
| Syrian Federation (1922–1924) |  |
|---|---|
| State of Syria (1925–1930) | |
| First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) | .svg) |
| Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) | |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | .svg) |
| Syrian Arab Republic (1961–present) |  |
* acting | |
 | ||
| History |
|  | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography |
| |||||||||||||
| Politics |
| |||||||||||||
| Economy |
| |||||||||||||
| Society |
| |||||||||||||
| Ideology | |
|---|---|
| History |
|
| Concepts | |
| Personalities |
|
| Organizations |
|
| Literature | |
| Symbolism | |
| Related topics | |
- Bashar al-Assad
- 1965 births
- Living people
- 20th-century presidents in Asia
- 20th-century Syrian politicians
- 21st-century Syrian politicians
- Presidents of Syria
- Anti-Americanism
- Anti-Zionism in the Arab world
- Al-Assad family
- Ba'athism
- Children of presidents of Syria
- Damascus University alumni
- Far-left politics in Asia
- Fugitives wanted by France
- Fugitives wanted on crimes against humanity charges
- Fugitives wanted on war crimes charges
- Grand Cordons of the National Order of the Cedar
- Holocaust deniers
- Homs Military Academy alumni
- Leaders of political parties
- Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction)
- Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region
- Muslim socialists
- People of the Syrian civil war
- People stripped of honorary degrees
- Politicians from Damascus
- Politicide perpetrators
- Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class
- Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List
- Syrian Alawites
- Syrian Arab nationalists
- Syrian expatriates in the United Kingdom
- Syrian mass murderers
- Syrian Muslims
- Syrian nationalists
- Syrian male writers
- Syrian male boxers
- Syrian ophthalmologists
- Totalitarianism