It has emerged that Bashar al-Assad's uncle, Rifaat al-Assad, has traveled from Lebanon to the UAE

The Lebanese press reported that Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad, has traveled from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In a report by Lebanon's Al-Jadeed television channel, photographs of the passport Rifaat al-Assad used to depart from Beirut were included.

It was stated that Rifaat al-Assad traveled to Dubai on a private jet from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on December 24, accompanied by two other individuals.

It was reported that Lebanese security forces detained a former officer from the al-Kureydi family, who served in the 4th Division commanded by Maher al-Assad, with 170 thousand dollars in his possession.

The report drew attention to the existence of a smuggling route extending from Damascus to the town of Hilweh on the Syrian-Lebanese border, and from there to the capital, Beirut.

HE ATTEMPTED TO LEAVE LEBANON WITH A FAKE PASSPORT

It had previously been announced that Rifaat al-Assad's granddaughter and daughter-in-law were detained at the airport in Beirut for attempting to leave Lebanon using fake passports.

Bashar al-Assad's uncle, Rifaat al-Assad, had previously served as the deputy to Hafez al-Assad.

FACING VARIOUS ACCUSATIONS

He faces accusations from international courts for war crimes, most notably the 1982 Hama Massacre.

In 2021, Rifaat al-Assad was found guilty in France of corruption and the illegal use of Syrian state funds, and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Reports in the Syrian press had stated that his uncle returned to Damascus in 2021 following an amnesty decision by Bashar al-Assad.

News Source: AA