Maher Assad
Photo: AFP
Maher and Bashar Assad
Photo: AFP
Syria: Assad's brother 'missing'
Damascus official says Maher Assad 'has absconded' Syria and his whereabouts are unknown
Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother Maher Assad may be missing, several Arab media outlets reported on Thursday that the younger Assad has not been seen in quite some time.
Damascus MP Khaled Daher was quoted as saying that Maher Assad had "absconded Syria."
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"Whether he is injured and is being treated away from the limelight, or Bashar Assad is keeping him away from the military operations – we don’t know," he told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa.
Lieutenant Colonel Maher Assad heads the Syrian Army's Fourth Division, which oversees security for Damascus and includes the elite Republican Guard.
He is considered to be a ruthless military commander and one of the most feared people in the Syrian government.
Maher Assad's division is leading the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters across Syria.
The United Nations believed over 5,000 people have been killed by the Damascus regime since mid-March.
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