A French judicial source has revealed that a new international arrest warrant has been issued for former regime president Bashar al-Assad, accusing him of orchestrating deadly chemical attacks near Damascus in 2013. This latest warrant adds to those previously issued by French courts.
According to AFP, the source said that judges in Paris signed the arrest warrant, charging al-Assad with complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
French courts had previously issued two arrest warrants against al-Assad: one on January 20 of this year and another on August 19. These charges relate to the bombing of a civilian area in Daraa in 2017 and the targeting of a journalists' center in Homs in 2012, which resulted in the deaths of American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik.
In November 2023, French authorities issued an international arrest warrant for al-Assad on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity due to the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians near Damascus in 2013.