Cousin kills air force official in road rage incident
A cousin of Syria’s president shoots dead a senior air force officer in a road rage incident according to a monitoring group. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the incident happened when the cousin followed the officer because he overtook him at a crossroads, then swerved the car around, got out and shot him dead. The cousin has not been arrested.
Assad, Akhras marry
Assad and Asma Akharas marry in a secret ceremony in Damascus. No pictures are taken.
Hafez al-Assad dies at 69
The Syrian president al-Assad dies in Damascus of a heart attack. He is survived by four of his five children. His dynastic guidelines pass succession to his son, Bashar al-Assad.