Riad al-As'aad | |
|---|---|
| Native name | رياض موسى الأسعد |
| Born | (1961-02-02)2 February 1961 (age 64) Idlib, Syria |
| Allegiance |  Ba'athist Syria(1980–2011) Syrian National Coalition(2011–14) Syrian Salvation Government(2017–2024) |
| Service |  Syrian Air Force(1980–2011)Free Syrian Army(2011–14) |
| Years of service | 1980–2014 |
| Rank | Colonel[1] |
| Commands | Free Syrian Army |
| Battles / wars | Syrian Civil War |
Riad Mousa al-As'aad (Arabic:رياض موسى الأسعد,pronounced[riˈjɑːdˤˈmuːsalˈʔæsʕæd]; born 2 February 1961) is a Syrian military officer and politician who is the founding leader of theFree Syrian Army.[2][3] One of the prominent faces of theSyrian civil war, he led the armedresistance to the Assad regime ascommander-in-chief of FSA, during theearly phase of the Syrian Civil War. Under Riad al-Asaad's command, FSA expanded into a paramilitary force of 75,000 guerilla fighters and insurgents in March 2012; capable of ousting regime forces fromDamascus.[4] He currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister for Military Affairs of theSyrian Salvation Government, a position he has held since 2 November 2017.[5] He was a formerColonel in theSyrian Air Force who defected to theopposition in July 2011 and became the firstActing Commander-in-chief of the Free Syrian Army.[6]
Some of his family members were executed by the regime ofBashar al-Assad.[7]
In December 2024, afterthe fall of the Assad government, Riad al-As'aad returned to Syrian capital Damascus. He told that Free Syrian Army (FSA) had been working closely with Islamist groupHayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the overthrown of the Assad regime.[8]
Following the outbreak of violence in Syria in March 2011, Colonel Riad al-Asaad announced his defection from the Syrian Air Force on 4 July 2011. He initially joined theFree Officers Movement after this defection.[9]
On 29 July 2011, al-Asaad along with other defectors declared the establishment of the Free Syrian Army, with the intention of fighting an insurgent war to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. Colonel Asaad opposes any exile solution for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and seeks for fighting until his government is overthrown.[10]
On 22 September 2012, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) announced that it had moved its command centre from Turkey to liberated areas inside Syria.[11] Alongside other military commanders of the FSA, Riad al-Asaad also hinted plans for initiating an offensive onDamascus, stating:
"To the Syrian people, its freedom fighters and all the armed factions, we are glad to let you know that the leadership of the FSA has moved into Syria following arrangements made with other brigades that included securing liberated areas with the hope of launching the offensive on Damascus."[12]
After UN military observers entered Syria, al-Asa'ad announced a ceasefire for all forces, committed to theKofi Annan peace plan for Syria. However, after a few days he has reannounced continuation of attacks led by rebels because the government ofBashar al-Assad, according to him, did not make peace as promised.[13] On 31 May 2012, al-Asa'ad urgedKofi Annan to scrap his peace plan which he claims failed.[6]
Colonel Kasim Saaduddin, a member of the FSA, stated that al-Asaad does not have control over the Free Syrian Army, which al-Asaad himself denied in the interview.[1]
On 8 December 2012, inAntalya, Turkey, Asaad was replaced by Brigadier GeneralSalim Idris as effective military commander of the Free Syrian Army.[14]
Riad al-Asaad has received criticism from some opposition protesters in the city ofSalamiyah. A protest on 3 August 2012 claimed that "Mr. General Riad al-Asaad, while our city protested for the first time, you were working for Assad's regime".[15]
In an interview with theVoice of Russia made in early August 2012, al-Asaad claimed that the Syrian government attempted to assassinate him several times and for that reason, he is being guarded by the Turkish intelligence.[16]
On 25 March 2013, he was the victim of acar bomb explosion nearMayadin, in eastern Syria. He was taken to Turkey for treatment,[17] where his right leg was amputated.[18][19] In his 2015 book,The Syrian Jihad, analyst Charles Lister cites a "senior Ahrar al-Sham leader" as telling him the rebel group had "secretly traced the assassination attempt on Riad al-Asaad back toJabhat al-Nusra."[20]
In late August 2017, Riad al-Asaad attended a conference inIdlib, held byTahrir al-Sham, which established the Syrian Salvation Government on 2 November.[21] Riad al-Assad said that "Tahrir al-Sham has previously declared that it will be dissolve itself, which is an external and internal demand". He said that they "did not attend the conference and we did not communicate with them after it ended, either". However, theHawar Kilis Operations Room, part of theTurkish-backed Free Syrian Army, condemned al-Asaad and accused him of conspiring with al-Qaeda.[22]
On 2 November 2017, Riad al-Asaad was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Military Affairs of theSyrian Salvation Government (ade facto alternativegovernment of theSyrian opposition).
Riad al-Asaad has made controversial statements such as suggesting that suicide bombing is "an integral part of revolutionary action, of Free Syrian Army action."[23]
In an undated video uploaded on 26 March 2013, Colonel Riad al-Asaad defended al-Nusra Front, describing them as, "our brothers in Islam".[24] As part of the interview, he asserted that the FSA had provided direct support for al-Nusra in order to aid their fight against the Ba'ath government.[24]
In a 2016 interview with Turkish daily newspaperYeni Şafak, Asaad said that theDemocratic Union Party (PYD) was more dangerous thanISIL, adding that ISIL was a temporary fraction in the area while the PYD is a cause of permanent devastation which brings long term crisis to the region.[25] He asserted that the existence of PYD and ISIL violence was connected with the continuation of the Assad regime and that extremism in Syria would be vanished if Assad left power. He stated that the PYD and its armed wingPeople's Protection Units (YPG) aimed to establish a separate Kurdish state in northern Syria but it would not be possible. The group, he said, was spreading hatred amongTurkmens,Arabs,Alawites and Kurds living in the area. He also asserted that the group, which claims to defendKurds, both was supported by theU.S. military and regime forces, had killed hundreds of Arabs, Turkmens, and even Kurds who opposed their Marxist-Socialist strategy. "U.S. is equally responsible as Assad,Russia and Iran for killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in Syria," the FSA commander said. He stated that PYD was a plan of U.S. and Europe to sabotage Syrian people's resistance especially the Free Syrian Army.[26]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Office established | Commander of the Free Syrian Army 29 July 2011 – 8 December 2012(as of 8 December 2012 only symbolically Head of State) | Succeeded by |
