Shawkat studied law and history at the university of damascus but joined the syrian arab army in the late 1970s. He succumbed to serious injuries and died on his way to the hospital. Another senior general was also killed and the heads of intelligence and the interior ministry were wounded, deeply damaging the security apparatus of the assad family, which has ruled the country with an iron fist for four decades. Jul 18, 2012 shawkat s marriage into the assad family brought him mixed fortunes, and his life read in some ways like something out of the soap operas he was said to write as a hobby. Assads brotherinlaw is the first of the family to fall. Jul 18, 2012 at the time he was considered a modernising hope for the arab world. Mar 04, 2021 the previous year, bashar alassads brotherinlaw, assef shawkat, subjected the chemist to a personal interrogation.
The officer ruled out that khalouf died in combat, saying. And those are the only two people that the official state tv has confirmed dead. Assef shawkat was born in 1950 to a middle class alawite family in the village of almadehleh, tartus. In 2011, shawkat backed the regimes brutal crackdown on the civilian uprising. Assef survived, and the two were said to have good relations then. Apr 18, 2019 ms chawkats father, assef, was assads military intelligence head and deputy defence minister before his 2012 death. Oct 28, 2005 this came after assad wrote a letter to the council, dated sunday, in which he affirmed that while syria was innocent of hariris feb. Zaman al wasl assef shawkat, once syrias most powerful man and ruling familys soninlaw, remained hostage to the assad familys decision till his death in damascus bomb attack on july 18, 2012. In 2012, following the assassination of her husban. In may, stories circulated that several members of the assad inner circle had been poisoned and. A suicide attack wednesday which struck at the heart of syrias security.
He and three other top syrian government officials. Top 10 famous politicians killed in bombings omg top. Maher al assad, in particular, hated shawkat, and shot him in the stomach in the 1990s. Dagher is a nonresident fellow at the middle east institute and author of the book assad or we burn the.
Dec 01, 2011 diplomats say maher shot his brotherinlaw assef shawkat, deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, in the stomach during an argument in 1999. Jul 20, 2012 a blast at the headquarters of the national security bureau nsb in damascus on 18 july killed president bashar alassads brotherinlaw and deputy defence minister gen assef shawkat, defence. Assads brotherinlaw assef shawkat confirmed dead ya. The most important alawite security figure believed by regional intelligence to have been killed by the regime was the presidents brotherinlaw, maj gen assef shawkat. Dec 18, 2012 bushra alassad was being courted by assef shawkat, a man 10 years her senior too old and too poor for basils liking. The former foreign minister farouk alsharaa right has announced his defection to the rebels.
Bbc news middle east whos who in syrias leadership. Assads brotherinlaw assef shawkat confirmed dead ya libnan. July 18, 2012, the death of syrian defense minister general daoud rajha in. With his strongmen dead, is this the beginning of the end for assad. A vanpuller killed was killed when his vehicle hit a roadside electric pole in shyamnagar upazila of the district on sunday morning. Oct 19, 2005 shawkat, who refused to remain silent, reminded maher that he was married to his sister bushra, a matter that angered maher even more. He was wounded in a july 18 bombing which killed four of president bashar alassads top security officials, including assads brotherinlaw assef shawkat. He has been confirmed dead has the free syrian army,and he is confirmed dead by the syrian regime,they are even page that say he died as a man,and this time his death is true,so nobody should change it again preceding unsigned comment added by 24.
Aug 17, 2012 his brotherinlaw assef shawkat pictured left died in the attack in damascus on july 18. This may be how it ends for president bashar alassad. Syrian state tv confirmed the death of assef shawkat, assads. The president has come to rely heavily on his brotherinlaw, regarded by many as syrias strongman behind the scenes.
With his strongmen dead, is this the beginning of the end for. Assads brotherinlaw assef shawkat, a top commander and one of the pillars of the assad clans rule, was killed in the wednesday blast along with defense minister daoud rajha. President bashar alassad did not attend his funeral. Maher was opposed to shawkats marriage to his sister bushra, and had shawkat imprisoned on several occasions to keep them apart. General assef shawkat, who was killed in a bomb attack at the headquarters. Shawkat, who was married to bushra assad, bashars only sister, had a stormy relationship with other members of the clan. He was also the soninlaw of bashar alassad who is the president of syria. It is important to focus on the reasoning behind this legislation. Jul 19, 2012 three of the regimes leaders lay dead around the table where they had been holding a weekly crisis meeting. An undated video on youtube shows him on a hunting trip, posing with dead birds on his 4x4.
Bushras husband, security bigwig assef shawkat, was killed in the july 18th bombing. Working for syrias chemical weapons program and spilling its secrets to the cia. Jul 18, 2012 the countrys 62yearold deputy defense minister assef shawkat, who is syrian president bashar alassads brotherinlaw and a top aide, also died in the attack, according to syrian state tv. In a move to dispel any rumors that he had been injured or had left the capital, mr. It remained unclear into monday evening in damascus whether assads brotherinlaw, assef shawkat, had been killed in the alleged attack. Jul 06, 2012 in the night between the 19th and 20th of may, 2012, syrian opposition sources and other media spread rumors that six senior officials of the syrian regime had been assassinated. Until his death in 2017, the tlass family was headed by mustafa tlass, who. Assef shawkat, bashar alassad\s brotherinlaw, among the dead in damascus. With his strongmen dead, is this the beginning of the end. Three members of bashar alassads inner circle killed in. Leading syrian regime figures killed in damascus bomb attack.
In 1968 he enrolled in damascus university to study law and history. Seared by images of dead children and butchered adults, the globe has. Assads brother, the muscle behind the throne reuters. Malek described conversations in homs in january 2012 with a member of the crisis committee, deputy defense minister assef shawkat, mr.
Syrian defense minister and assef shawkat killed in. Assef shawkat, president bashar alassads brotherinlaw and a. A ruthless attack that proves assad is not invincible. He and three other top syrian government officials were killed on 18 july 2012 in after joining the army, shawkat began working his way up through the ranks, and by 1982 he was an officer in the in 1983, after hafez alassad suffered an apparent heart attack, he named governing.
Four people killed in road mishaps in four districts. Shawkat told the chemist the government knew what he had done. May 23, 2012 al arabiya reported tuesday night that syrian officials had confirmed reports that president bashar assads brotherinlaw and former head of military intelligence assef shawkat was killed in a. According to a source close to the security services, assef shawkat died at a hospital in damascus to where he was transferred. In october 1999, he was rumoured to have shot shawkat in the stomach during an argument. Jul 18, 2012 he also helped to create a us intelligence operation in syria, later closed, to fight terrorism in the country. They worry that washington will shift policy in the syria conflict from one of support for the moderate opposition to collaboration with the regime of. May 22, 2012 it remained unclear into monday evening in damascus whether assads brotherinlaw, assef shawkat, had been killed in the alleged attack. And that is a more powerful person cause he s also presidents assads brotherinlaw. Assef shawkat, the brother in law of syrian president bashar alassad, was killed this morning in a suicide bombing that targeted the building of the national security in damascus, said al manar. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this. After this bushra, who is the presidents sister, moved to. Mysterious killings of syrian regime operatives hint at.
He felt it was improper for his sister to marry shawkat, so he had him. Top military scientist in syrias chemical weapons program spied for. Assef shawkat and the assads life as an outsider on the. It is the beginning of the end, but a potentially very bloody end. Jul 18, 2012 the syrian observatory for human rights called shawkat s death a severe blow to the syrian regime since he played the main role in operations by regular forces to crush the revolution. Assef shawkat and the assads life as an outsider on the inside tuesday april 4th, 2017 by zaman alwasl opposition website zaman alwasl profiles the life of the former deputy defense minister and brotherinlaw of bashar alassad, whose proximity to and lifes work for the regime did little to earn him wide respect among the ruling family. By 1982 he was an officer in the defense companies, who. He was known to the cias clandestine service as the chemist, and. In the middle, with head bowed, is assef shawkat, his brotherinlaw, and on the left is maher alassad, his younger brother. Top 10 famous politicians killed in bombings omg top tens list. Shawkat is one of the few figures in syrian contemporary history whose life as an authoritarian witnessed so many ups and downs due to his relationship with.
In this june, 2000, file photo, syrian president bashar alassad, right, his brother maher, middle, and brotherinlaw majorgeneral assef shawkat, left, stand during the funeral of late. Then there is the question of whether assef shawkat really died today, or in fact two months ago. Assads slain aides had many people who would want them dead. In the late 1990s his younger brotherinlaw, maher assad, reportedly shot. According to the sources, the six were members of a special team established by the regime to handle the syrian crisis. Jul 24, 2012 assef shawkat, deputy defence minister and former military intelligence chief who was killed in a suicide bomb attack on july 18. Factbox arab sanctions target syrian leaders, intelligence. But any syrian would have told you that president bashar alassads 62yearold brotherinlaw, reported to have been killed in a suicide attack in damascus on wednesday, was one of the pillars of assad family rule. Chances are, however, that he is alive and kicking. Assef shawkat, center, during the funeral of late president hafez. Fullscale battle for damascus begins financial times. Assef shawkat was previously the head of the military intelligence.
Four people including a minor child were killed in separate road accidents in four districts satkhira, sherpur, laxmipur and moulvibazar, in two days. Jul 18, 2012 syrian state tv confirmed the death of assef shawkat, assads brotherinlaw and the deputy head of the armed forces, and his closest security adviser, as well as dawoud rajha, the minister of. His death, along with two other members of assads inner circle. Assef shawkat was the deputy minister of defense of syria from september 2011 until his death in july 2012. Assef shawkat wikipedia tip en assef shawkat arabic. But a senior member of one syrian opposition group says the. It was the second time shaar appeared to have been targeted in a rebel attack. Shawkat was transferred to france for treatment, survived, and returned to syria. Assads brother lost leg in damascus blast that killed. If i give away all that i have and deliver my body to be burned, but am not a loving person, i gain nothing.
He was killed by a rebel outside the national security bureau in damascus. Nevertheless, it was the trio of assef shawkat and the alassad. The world saw only a handful of pictures of assef shawkat. Assef shawkat, who has been killed aged 62, was the brotherinlaw of syrias president bashar assad, and a feared figure in the security apparatus that has being trying to crush.
Syrian defense minister and assef shawkat killed in damascus. By erika solomon beirut, july 18 reuters the world saw only a handful of pictures of assef shawkat. But one proregime source in damascus told the guardian it was possible that. A staunch nationalist, he is lauded by loyalists for modernising and. The makhlouf family chose a fourstar hotel as they liked to keep a. Jul 18, 2012 the world saw only a handful of pictures of assef shawkat. He and three other top syrian government officials were killed on 18 july 2012 in after joining the army, shawkat began working his way up through the ranks, and by 1982 he was an officer in the in 1983, after hafez alassad suffered an apparent heart attack, he named governing council of six men he believed were unlikely to seize power to run. What red line tells us about syrias chemical weapons the. When president hafez alassad died in 2000 after almost 30 years in charge, shawkat was believed to be.
Fighting grips syrian capital after attack on assads inner circle. Education entrepreneurship recruitment business books business travel. Maher, legend has it, pulled out a gun and shot shawkat in the stomach. Assef shawkat, deputy defense minister of syria, lost his life by a suicide attack on 18 th july, 2012 in beirut. Architect of crackdown in syria and defense minister killed in. State television reported that assad had appointed fahd alfreij as new defense minister, while syrias army vowed to continue fighting terrorism. In 1999, maher went for bigger game, shooting brotherinlaw shawkat during an argument. Mysterious killings of syrian regime operatives hint at inside jobs. Assads brotherinlaw is the first of the family to fall a suicide attack wednesday which struck at the heart of syrias security apparatus killed defense minister general. After years as deputy head and then chief of military intelligence, he had. As a result, he was targeted along with other security officials in a bomb attack by free syrian army units in the capital damascus. Assef shawkat, the husband of assads elder sister, also died.
Assef shawkat s townfolks deny that he is dead, according to the online news site, syria politic. May 30, 2019 syrias deputy defence minister assef shawkat, despite being responsible for countless deaths, did not take well to the blanket destruction of syria being enacted by the regime of which he was part. Assef shawkat project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Maher alassad project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the.
By 1982 he was an officer in the defense companies, who committed the hama massacre against rebels who fought against president hafez alassad. He and three other top syrian government officials were killed on 18 july 2012 in free syrian army. Assads niece has assets frozen after found to be living and. During the reagan administration, woodward conducted an unrecorded fourminute deathbed interview with cia director william casey for the book veil. According to al manar, the interior minister mohammad ibrahim al. Jul 20, 2012 assef shawkat was born in 1950 to a middle class alawite family in the village of almadehleh, tartus. Assef shawkat, deputy chief of staff of the syrian army a figure at the very heart of the regime, assef shawkat was one of bashar al assads top security chiefs, and was married to the president. Leading syrian regime figures killed in damascus bomb. Bushra alassad was being courted by assef shawkat, a man. What red line tells us about syrias chemical weapons.
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