Riad al-Asaad رياض موسى الأسعد | |
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Native name | رياض موسى الأسعد |
Born | 2 February, 1961 (age 62–63) |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() ![]() |
Years of service | 1980–2014 |
Rank | Colonel[1] |
Commands | Free Syrian Army |
Battles/wars | Syrian Civil War |
Riad Mousa al-Asaad (Arabic pronunciation: [rijɑːdˤ muːsa ɐlʔæsʕæd]; Arabic: رياض موسى الأسعد, born 2 February 1961) is a Syrian military officer and politician who is the founding leader of the Free Syrian Army.[2][3] One of the prominent faces of the Syrian Civil War, he led the armed resistance to the Assad regime as commander-in-chief of FSA, during the early phase of the Syrian Civil War. Under Riad al-Asaad's command, FSA expanded into a paramilitary force of 75,000 guerillas and insurgents in March 2012; capable of ousting regime forces from Damascus.[4] He currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister for Military Affairs of the Syrian Salvation Government, a position he has held since 2 November 2017.[5] He 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.[6]
A number of his family members were executed by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.[7] Despite the similar English spelling of surname, it is a completely different surname, and he is not a member of, nor related with, Syria's ruling al-Assad family.
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