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Rifaat Assad

January 22nd, 2026 - 06:40 GMT

Sally Shakkour

Rifaat Assad, Butcher of Hama, dies aged 88

ALBAWABA - Rifaat Assad, uncle of Syria's ousted President Bashar Assad, who is well known as the "Butcher of Hama", died at the age of 88 in the UAE. Rifaat Assad, a former Syrian vice president, was convicted of money laundering in France and accused of war crimes in Switzerland. Rifaat was the brother of Hafez Assad, former president of Syria and the former commander of the paramilitary 'Defence Companies' ...

The fighters of the Houthi movement brandish their weapons during a rally against Saudi airstrikes. (AFP/File)

March 29th, 2016 - 09:00 GMT

Houthis and Saudi forces exchange prisoners

Smoke and flames rise from burning vehicles at the site of an attack in front of the Afghan parliament building in Kabul on June 22, 2015. (AFP/Shah Marai)

March 28th, 2016 - 03:09 GMT

Taliban claim responsibility for rocket attack on Afghan Parliament

Members of Lebanon's Shia movement Hezbollah hold their flags during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter, who was killed while fighting alongside Syrian government forces in Syria, March 1, 2016. (AFP/Mahmoud Zayyat)

March 28th, 2016 - 02:00 GMT

Egypt refuses to categorize Hezbollah as a ‘terror organization’ despite Saudi pressure

Black smoke billows from the Afghan parliament building in Kabul on June 22, 2015. (AFP/Shah Marai)

March 28th, 2016 - 12:30 GMT

Afghanistan: Parliament targeted by three rockets from unknown attackers

Tunisian special forces take position during clashes with militants in the southern town of Ben Guerdane, near the Libyan border, March 7, 2016. (AFP/Fathi Nasri)

March 28th, 2016 - 12:00 GMT

Suicide belts, weapons and explosives found in Ben Guerdane, Tunisia

Protesters hold banners and Czech national flags during an anti-refugee rally on September 12, 2015 in Prague. (AFP/Michal Cizek)

March 28th, 2016 - 10:36 GMT

Clashes erupt between far right protesters and Greek police over refugees

UN chief Ban Ki-moon holds a press conference with the World Bank president, Jordan's foreign minister and planning minister at the ministry of foreign affairs in Amman on March 27, 2016. (AFP/Ahmad Abdo)

March 28th, 2016 - 09:07 GMT

UN chief visits Zaatari camp, meets with Middle Eastern leaders in Jordan

Yemenis wave national flags and hold placards during a protest against the Saudi-led coalition, commemorating one year of the alliance's military campaign against insurgents on March 26, 2016 next to the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. (AFP/Mohammed Huwais)

March 28th, 2016 - 07:38 GMT

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Saudi Arabia swap prisoners

Pakistani relatives mourn over the body of a victim during a funeral following an overnight suicide bombing in Lahore on March 28, 2016. (AFP/Arif Ali)

March 28th, 2016 - 06:30 GMT

Taliban claims responsibility for Lahore bombing, says Christians were targeted

Pope Francis (R) leads the Easter Sunday mass on March 27, 2016 at St Peter's square in Vatican. Christians around the world are marking the Holy Week, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, leading up to his resurrection on Easter. (AFP/Alberto Pizzoli)

March 27th, 2016 - 05:30 GMT

Pope Francis condemns the rejection of refugees in Easter speech

A child plays with a survival blanket at the makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni on March 26, 2016, where thousands of refugees and migrants are stranded by the Balkan border. (AFP/Sakis Mitrolidis)

March 27th, 2016 - 12:30 GMT

Refugees reluctant to leave as Greece clears Idomeni border camp

The UAE Federal Supreme Court sentenced 11 defendants to life in prison and 10 others to 15 years for belonging to militant groups seeking to set up a Daesh-style caliphate. (File photo)

March 27th, 2016 - 09:57 GMT

UAE court sentences 11 to life in prison for belonging to ‘terror organization’