Assad's cousin and his wife were detained while trying to leave the country with a fake passport.

The Lebanese press reported that Dureid Assad, the cousin of Syria's ousted leader Bashar Assad, and his wife and daughter were detained while trying to leave Lebanon with fake passports.

According to reports in the Lebanese press, Dureid Assad's wife and daughter were detained at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. It was reported that individuals from the Assad family were detained for attempting to leave Lebanon with fake Syrian passports.

NO OFFICIAL STATEMENT MADE

It is not known whether Dureid, the son of Bashar Assad's uncle Rifaat Assad, had previously resided in Lebanon or came to Lebanon after the fall of the Assad regime. No official statement has been made by Lebanese authorities regarding the matter.

Bashar Assad's uncle, Rifaat Assad (86), had served as the deputy to Hafiz Assad. He faces accusations from international courts for war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly for his role in the Hama Massacre in 1982.

In France, Rifaat Assad was sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2021 for corruption and the illegal use of Syrian state funds. Reports in the Syrian press indicated that after Bashar Assad's amnesty decision in 2021, his uncle returned to Damascus.