The unknowns of the 'Chief Bandit' whom President Erdoğan said "Remove from office" years ago.

After the overthrow of the 61-year-old Ba'ath regime in Syria and the end of the Assad family's era, the home of the deposed leader Bashar Assad's brother, Major General Mahir Assad, was captured in the capital Damascus. In the mansion belonging to Mahir Assad in Damascus, there was a massive tunnel complex. Opposition members searched the house, while journalists documented the tunnel.

OPPOSITION CALLS HIM "CHIEF BANDIT"

Mahir Assad, as ruthless as his brother Bashar Assad, led a life away from the public eye. This has sparked curiosity about him, his life, and the atrocities he committed. Mahir, whom Syrian opposition describes as "Chief Bandit," is Bashar's younger brother born in 1970... He is known for his bloody and brutal personality, just like his older brother.

Mahir Assad, who is on the sanctions list of the UN and the EU, served as the commander of the 4th Armored Division of the Syrian Army, which forms the core of the country's security forces along with the Syrian Military Intelligence. Mahir Assad is seen as directly responsible for the massacres that occurred in many parts of Syria before and after the civil war.

ERDOĞAN HAD REQUESTED HIS REMOVAL

In a 2011 report by Adrian Blomfield, the Middle East correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, it was stated that President Erdoğan requested the removal of Mahir Assad due to his ruthlessness. The report mentioned that "Erdoğan demanded that Bashar Assad immediately remove his brother Mahir Assad, who evokes great hatred, from his position in the army."

STRIKING POST FROM HIS WIFE

On the other hand, Mahir Assad's wife, Manal Assad, shared the new flag of Syria on her social media account with the note, "Long live free and proud Syria, despite family and homeland traitors." It was reported that Bashar Assad fled to Moscow with his family, but there is no confirmed information about Mahir's whereabouts.