| January 2010 - News |
| January 2010 |
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Assad’s younger brother passes away Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s younger brother Majd Hafez al-Assad passed away on December 12 after suffering from a chronic disease, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported. Following the announcement, Lebanese officials flocked to Syria to offer their condolences. The Lebanese interior and economy and trade ministers visited Assad on December 14 to pay their respects on behalf of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and President Michel Sleiman. King Abdullah II of Jordan also travelled to Damascus on December 16 to offer his condolences to the president. Majd’s body was laid to rest in the city of Qardaha following afternoon prayers on December 13. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry, Hezbollah’s political adviser Hajj Hussein Khalil and Lebanese MPs Sleiman Franjieh and Talal Erslan also attended the funeral in Qardaha. Majd was born in Lattakia in 1966. He graduated from the faculty of economics at the University of Damascus in 1989, SANA said. |