France Issues Second Arrest Warrant for Ousted Assad Over War Crimes

A French court has issued an arrest warrant for Syria’s ousted Bashar Al-Assad for committing war crimes, including attacks targeting civilians.

Rabat – A French court has issued an arrest warrant for Syria’s ousted Bashar Al-Assad for committing war crimes, including attacks targeting civilians.

Marking their second warrant against Assad over similar crimes, French judges issued the current warrant on January 20, connecting the ousted Syrian leader to a 2017 bombing that killed Franco-Syrian citizen Salah Abou Nabour.

French law allows the country to prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed against their citizens abroad.

The French legal system issued a previous warrant in November 2023. FThe warrant focused on the deadly chemical attacks that Assad orchestrated in Syria’s Douma and Eastern Ghouta in August 2013, which claimed more than 1,000 lives.

Assad’s government repeatedly denied using chemical weapons during Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 following popular protests that broke out across the whole country.

This latest development shows France’s ongoing efforts to hold Syrian leadership accountable for actions during the country’s long unrest.

The warrants are symbolic steps in international justice, though their practical impact remains unclear. Syria’s civil war, after thirteen years, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and forced millions to flee their homes.

The country is rebounding from the civil war during Assad’s reign that has left humanitarian repercussions and a torn country.

The rebel coalition, led by Sunni Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), declared the country free from a 50-year al-Assad family authoritarian rule when they entered Damascus on December 8, 2024.

Since then, the interim government has been investing efforts to garner regional and international support. The government’s official made visits pleading for sanctions to be lifted to help the country recover from the war.

However, the government’s education ministry made a controversial announcement that they intend to amend the school curriculum with fundamental changes.