On the walls of the palatial mausoleum built to house the remains of former Syrian President Hafez Assad, vandals had sprayed variations of the phrase “Damn your soul, Hafez.” Near two weeks ...

Hafez al-Assad was the president of Syria from 1970 until his death in 2000, a leader who shaped the country through a combination of military dominance, political maneuvering, and brutal repression.

Unconfirmed Syrian media reports on Monday morning claimed that unidentified individuals broke into the mausoleum of former Syrian president Hafez Assad — father of Bashar Assad — in the city ...