Latest news with #WassimAlAssad
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Syria arrests Bashar Al Assad's cousin involved in drug trade arrested in border ambush
Syrian authorities arrested Wassim Al Assad, a cousin of longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad, the interior ministry said Saturday, in one of the most high-profile arrests since the former president's ouster. Bashar Al Assad fled to Russia in December with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers. An interior ministry statement said that intelligence services and other authorities managed to "lure the criminal Wassim Al Assad", carrying out a "well-planned ambush that resulted in his successful arrest". He is "considered among the most prominent drug traffickers and people involved in a number of crimes during the period of the former regime", the statement said, without elaborating on the other allegations against him. While Wassim Al Assad did not hold high office, he is the first prominent figure from the Assad family to be arrested since forces toppled the government on December 8, ending five decades of one-family rule. The US Treasury sanctioned him in 2023, saying he had led a paramilitary unit and was "a key figure in the regional drug trafficking network". State news agency SANA, citing an unidentified security source in Homs province, said Wassim Al Assad was arrested on the Syria-Lebanon border. A security source, requesting anonymity, told AFP he was arrested Saturday in the Tal Kalakh area, in Homs province near the frontier. In recent years, Wassim Al Assad, who called himself a "customs broker", posted images of himself on social media near luxury cars, sometimes appearing in military clothing and bearing arms or shooting, at times alongside other armed men. Since taking power, the new authorities have occasionally announced the arrest of Assad-era security and other officials. In April, Syrian authorities said security forces had arrested Sultan Al Tinawi, a former officer in the feared air force intelligence, one of the Assad family's most trusted security agencies.
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Security Forces Detain Cousin of Toppled Leader Assad
Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon, Reuters said. Bashar al-Assad was toppled by the opposition factions in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria's new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses. Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Syrian security forces detain cousin of toppled leader Assad
Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon. Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria's new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses. Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Syrian security forces detain cousin of toppled leader Assad
June 21 (Reuters) - Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon. Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel insurgency in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria's new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses. Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.
