Notorious uncle of ousted Syrian despot Assad dubbed ‘Butcher of Hama’ dies in Dubai aged 88

THE notorious uncle of ousted Syrian despot Assad, dubbed the “Butcher of Hama” has died. Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, died at the age of 88 in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, sources said. A former army officer, Rifaat helped Assad seize power in a 1970 coup and…