Assad’s Uncle Charged with Corruption in France

Rifaat al-Assad, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s uncle, was charged with corruption and tax fraud by French courts, French officials said on Tuesday.

The 78-year-old was the commander of Syrian internal security forces in the 1970s and early 1980s, and built a $100 million property empire in France, al-Jazeera reports. A spokesman for the financial prosecutor’s office said Rifaat al-Assad used embezzled funds and committed tax fraud; the Assad family claims the fortune was amassed as gifts from wealthy Saudi supporters.

Rifaat al-Assad was forced into exile in 1984 for attempting to oust his older brother, the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. A French court issued a prohibition on Rifaat al-Assad leaving France, allowing him only to travel to the U.K. to receive medical care.

Syrian NGOs Threaten to Withdraw From Geneva Talks

Syrian civil society groups threatened to withdraw their support from the halted peace talks on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported.

A letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that the ongoing fighting and rising death toll made their presence at peace talks “meaningless” and “unnecessary”.

The letter’s 24 signatories included the Syrian Civil Defense, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Syrian Women’s Network and the UOSSM, an NGO that supports hospitals in Syria, which are routinely under attack.

The letter stated that its signatories will no longer be able to participate in the peace talks if a cessation of hostilities and civilian protection measures are not developed and enforced, and called for airdrop aid deliveries for besieged areas, the release of detainees and special tribunals to hold war criminal suspects accountable.

The last round of peace talks ended late in April, and U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura has not yet set a date to resume the process.

The New Syrian Army Fights ISIS at Iraqi Border

Syrian rebels launched an attack against ISIS on Tuesday on a new front: the eastern town of al-Bukamal, near the border with Iraq.

The rebels, known as the New Syria Army, are armed and equipped by the U.S.-led coalition, Reuters reports. Coalition airstrikes backed the offensive on the town, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The push for al-Bukamal aims to wrest control of the strategic town from ISIS, restricting mobility between the group’s territories in Iraq and Syria. U.S.- backed rebels continued their offensive against ISIS in the north as well.

Declining comment on the most recent offensive, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman said the U.S. is supporting “unnamed” rebel groups.

Recommended Reads:

• War on the Rocks: Russia Is in Charge in Syria
• Huffington Post: The False, Perilous Choice of a ‘Limited’ American Bombing Campaign In Syria
• Al-Jazeera: Reporting Syria: ‘There’s a Direct Threat for Everyone’
• The New York Times: He Fled Syria to Avoid Prison. He Ended Up Living in One Anyway
• The Guardian: ‘Europe Pays a Heavy Price for Syria – it Must Act to End the Crisis’