Syria: Shirtless photos of Bashar Assad go viral after rebels storm his mansions

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Several photos of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - some of them even semi-naked - have gone viral, offering a stark contrast for a family that once ruled over a country with an iron fist. Assad, who ruled Syria for 25 years, fled to Russia as rebels took over several Syrian cities and the capital Damascus a week ago. The images were found in Assad's albums discovered by rebels who breached his palatial houses in Damascus and Aleppo.


One of the images showed a shirtless Assad posing with a camera - probably taking a selfie - and another of him riding a scooter in innerwear. Another showed him flexing his bicep in a speedo.


Assad, 59, is seen in one of the photos with a woman sitting on his shoulders and another in which he puts a ring on his wife's fingers.


The collection also included an image of his father Hafez al-Assad - who ruled Syria until he died in 2000 - posing in underwear.


Few more Assad pictures so you can have endless nightmares for days to come https://t.co/1v9kim6Sxy pic.twitter.com/wgRuFGnz3C
— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) December 12, 2024


The images have also sparked ridicule for a leader known criticised for his autocratic nature. Saad Abedine, a journalist with Al Jazeera, shared some of these photos on X, saying these will give "endless nightmares for days to come".


Syrian journalist Hussam Hammoud slammed the public "fantasy" over such personal photos of the ousted leader.


What is it with the #Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind.

Two pictures of Hafez and Bashar Assad in their fashionable skivvies were found in the presidential palace. pic.twitter.com/GYxq5AuMZU
— Hussam Hammoud | حسام (@HussamHamoud) December 10, 2024


"What is it with the #Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind. Two pictures of Hafez and Bashar Assad in their fashionable skivvies were found in the presidential palace," said Mr Hammoud.


Assad's Aleppo and Damascus mansions have been stripped of their valuables by the rebels in a war-torn country where the meaning of luxury had been confined to mere surviving another day since the start of the civil war in 2011.