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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17594988
Rifaat al-Assad: Bashar al-Assad Cannot Survive for Long
(BBC News) Former Syrian vice president Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, believes it is unlikely that his nephew can hold onto power much longer. "The problems are now general to all parts of Syria - there are no places that have escaped violence - so I don't think he can stay in power," Rifaat told the BBC. Rifaat had led a 1982 military assault on Hama to suppress an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood, leaving up to 25,000 people dead. Rifaat al-Assad tried to oust Bashar's father Hafez in a coup while he was recovering from a heart attack and was effectively sent into exile in 1984. When Bashar became president following his father's death in 2000, Rifaat criticized the succession, as he considered himself the legitimate successor.