Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad’s tomb exhumed, remains moved to unknown location

The tomb of former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad has been exhumed and his remains relocated to an undisclosed location, according to Syrian activists and local media reports.

Images and videos circulating on social media Monday show the grave site in Qardaha, western Syria, reduced to a charred pit. Footage shared by Syrian outlet Zaman al-Wasl reportedly dates to April 17 and depicts uniformed individuals at the heavily damaged site, though their affiliation remains unconfirmed.

This marks the first visual evidence of such extensive desecration of the tomb, which had already been attacked and burned following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime several months ago.

“The site was stormed by opponents of the regime after government forces withdrew from Qardaha,” said one activist account on social media. Qardaha, located in Latakia province, had long served as a stronghold of the Assad family.

Earlier videos showed protesters setting fire to the mausoleum and defacing the tombstone in what appeared to be symbolic acts marking the end of the Assad dynasty’s decades-long rule.

For over 20 years, the Assad regime had maintained the tomb as a shrine, requiring visiting officials, military personnel and ordinary citizens to pay homage to the former president, who died in 2000 after ruling Syria for three decades.

Online reactions to the reported exhumation have been divided. Some activists celebrated the removal, with one post on X describing it as necessary to “cleanse Muslim lands of the tyrant.” Others questioned whether the symbolic act would have any impact on Syria’s fractured political landscape.

Many locals from Qardaha have reportedly expressed resentment over the lavish mausoleum built in their impoverished town, with anger intensifying as Syria’s economic situation deteriorated while the Assad family maintained their wealth and privilege.

Legacy of Assad dictatorship

Hafez al-Assad seized power in a 1970 coup referred to as the “Corrective Movement” and ruled through a combination of authoritarian control, extensive security networks and harsh suppression of dissent.

His son, Bashar al-Assad, took power in 2000 but faced a devastating civil war after responding with lethal force to protests that emerged during the 2011 Arab Spring.

While supporters credit the elder Assad with bringing stability to Syria, critics blame him for establishing foundations of repression, corruption and sectarianism that later fueled the country’s civil conflict.

The timing of the exhumation and current location of the remains remain unknown.