Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Syrian rebel fighters have destroyed the tomb of late president Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted president Bashar, in the family’s hometown. Videos verified by the BBC showed armed men chanting as they walked around the burning mausoleum in Qardaha, in the north-west of the coastal Latakia region. The rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept across Syria in a lightning offensive that toppled the Assad dynasty’s 54-year rule. Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia where he and his family have been given asylum. Statues and posters of the late president Hafez and his son Bashar have been pulled down across the country to cheers from Syrians celebrating the end of their rule.” (12/11/24)