Riad al-Asaad currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister for Military Affairs of the Syrian Salvation Government, a position he has held since 2 November 2017.
17 Facts About Riad al-Asaad
1.
2.
Riad al-Asaad was a former Colonel in the Syrian Air Force who defected to the opposition in July 2011 and became the first Acting Commander-in-chief of the Free Syrian Army.
3.
In December 2024, after the fall of the Assad government, Riad al-As'aad returned to Syrian capital Damascus.
4.
Riad al-Asaad told that Free Syrian Army had been working closely with Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the overthrown of the Assad regime.
5.
Riad al-Asaad initially joined the Free Officers Movement after this defection.
6.
Alongside other military commanders of the FSA, Riad al-Asaad hinted plans for initiating an offensive on Damascus, stating:.
7.
Riad al-Asaad has received criticism from some opposition protesters in the city of Salamiyah.
8.
Riad al-Asaad was taken to Turkey for treatment, where his right leg was amputated.
9.
In late August 2017, Riad al-Asaad attended a conference in Idlib, held by Tahrir al-Sham, which established the Syrian Salvation Government on 2 November.
10.
Riad al-Asaad al-Assad said that "Tahrir al-Sham has previously declared that it will be dissolve itself, which is an external and internal demand".
11.
Riad al-Asaad said that they "did not attend the conference and we did not communicate with them after it ended, either".
12.
However, the Hawar Kilis Operations Room, part of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army, condemned Riad al-Asaad and accused him of conspiring with al-Qaeda.
13.
On 2 November 2017, Riad al-Asaad was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Military Affairs of the Syrian Salvation Government.
14.
Riad al-Asaad 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.
15.
Riad al-Asaad stated that the PYD and its armed wing People's Protection Units aimed to establish a separate Kurdish state in northern Syria but it would not be possible.
16.
Riad al-Asaad asserted that the group, which claims to defend Kurds, both was supported by the US military and regime forces, had killed hundreds of Arabs, Turkmens, and even Kurds who opposed their Marxist-Socialist strategy.
17.
Riad al-Asaad stated that PYD was a plan of US and Europe to sabotage Syrian people's resistance especially the Free Syrian Army.