France Issues Second Arrest Warrant Against Assad for 2017 Deraa Bombing

Jan 21, 2025, 05:59 PM

Two French investigating magistrates have issued a new arrest warrant against ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes. The warrant, issued on Monday, holds Assad responsible as the 'commander-in-chief of the armed forces' for a 2017 bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa that killed a civilian, Salah Abou Nabout, a 59-year-old Franco-Syrian national and former French teacher. This marks the second arrest warrant issued by French judicial authorities against Assad, following a previous one in November 2023 related to chemical attacks in 2013. Six senior Syrian army officials are also targeted by arrest warrants in connection with this case. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has emphasized that crimes committed at Sednaya prison under Assad's regime must not go unpunished. Assad, who was ousted late last year by Islamist forces, has fled to Russia with his family.