Semi-Naked Pictures Of Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad Go Viral After Rebels Storm His Mansions – News18

Last Updated:December 16, 2024, 17:44 IST

Unflattering pictures of Assad recovered from his mansions showed him posing in his underwear, riding a motorcycle in his briefs and wearing a tiny speedo while surrounded by people.

Bashar Al-Assad’s personal pictures were uncovered from his mansions raided by rebels. (Photo: X)

Syrian rebels stormed ousted President Bashar Al-Assad’s abandoned residences and uncovered semi-naked picture pictures of the leader who ruled the country for over two decades. This became a source of mockery and ridicule among those who were persecuted for criticising his oppressive leadership.

Soon after rebels discovered photo albums from Assad’s mansions in the hills of Damascus and Aleppo, the unflattering pictures of Assad and his father Hafez Assad spread like wildfire on social media, showing the ousted president in his underwear riding a scooter.

One of the images showed Assad apparently posing in his underwear, a picture he probably would not have wanted the world to see. Another picture showed him picking a girl on his shoulders. Several pictures showed him flexing his biceps underwater, in a wheelchair and on a boat, wearing nothing but his underwear.

Another photo showed him wearing a tiny speedo while sitting with two women, and he was also seen trying to take a mirror selfie with a camera before it became a thing. His father Hafez Assad was also seen in his underwear, striking a bodybuilder-like pose.

In one photo, Assad is pictured with a group of people, including his reportedly maternal cousin, Ihab Makhlouf, who is wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of Hitler. One photo hoto showed a young Bashar in a suit and his wife Asmaa in a white dress, reportedly from their engagement ceremony, as he places a ring on her finger.

People Mock Assad After Personal Pics Go Viral

The pictures added a bit of humour in Syria’s otherwise dark history, where a civil war by the autocratic leader lasted for 13 years, claimed more than half a million lives and forced millions of Syrians to flee their home. “Few more Assad pictures so you can have endless nightmares for days to come,” said Al Jazeera journalist Saad Abedine.

“What is it with the #Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind,” said Syrian journalist Hussam Hammoud. “Someone somewhere thought this picture of Assad in his tighty whities was worth taking, printing, and safekeeping for decades,” wrote another individual on X.

Social media footage showed Syrians touring the Assads’ opulent estates, revealing extravagant decor, jacuzzis and other lavish possessions out of reach of ordinary people living in death and destitute amid the civil war since 2011. People stripped the mansions of valuables out of vengeance for decades of persecution and exposed Assad’s private world.

Many Syrians had endured forced imprisonment, displacement and oppression under the Assad dynasty for decades and these photos served as both a spectacle and a moment of catharsis.

Opposition Forces Raid Assad’s Palace

Last week, Syrian rebel fighters raided Assad’s presidential palace, with several videos showing people entering the Al-Rawda Presidential Palace and looting valuables, as children ran through the grand rooms and men slid a large trunk across the ornate floor.

Some of the Syrians were seen taking items of furniture or ornaments. Several men also carried smart chairs over their shoulders. In a storeroom, cupboards were ransacked and objects were strewn across the floor.

The Syrian government collapsed on December 8 as the rebels seized control of the capital Damascus after capturing several other prominent cities and towns. Assad fled the country as rebels gained momentum with the lightning offensive, ending not only his 24-year rule but also leading to the downfall of his clan’s five-decade reign in the country.

(with inputs from agencies)

Location :

Damascus, Syria