Riad al-Asaad
Riad al-As'aad | |
|---|---|
| Native name | رياض موسى الأسعد |
| Born | 2 February 1961 Idlib, Syria |
| Allegiance | Ba'athist Syria(1980–2011) Syrian National Coalition(2011–14) Syrian Salvation Government (2017–2024) |
| Branch | Syrian Air Force (1980–2011) Free Syrian Army (2011–14) |
| Years of service | 1980–2014 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands | Free Syrian Army |
| Battles / wars | Syrian Civil War |
Riad Mousa al-As'aad (Arabic: رياض موسى الأسعد, pronounced [riˈjɑːdˤ ˈmuːsa lˈʔæsʕæd]; born 2 February 1961) is a Syrian military officer and politician who is the founding leader of the Free Syrian Army. One of the prominent faces of the Syrian civil war, he led the armed resistance to the Assad regime as commander-in-chief of FSA, during the early phase of the Syrian Civil War. Under Riad al-Asaad's command, FSA expanded into a paramilitary force of 75,000 guerilla fighters and insurgents in March 2012; capable of ousting regime forces from Damascus. He currently serves as the deputy prime minister for Military Affairs of the Syrian Salvation Government, a position he has held since 2 November 2017. He was a former colonel in the Syrian Air Force who defected to the opposition in July 2011 and became the first Acting Commander-in-chief of the Free Syrian Army.
Some of his family members were executed by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
In December 2024, after the fall of the Assad government, Riad al-As'aad returned to Syrian capital Damascus. He told that Free Syrian Army (FSA) had been working closely with Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the overthrown of the Assad regime.