Syria's Assad: The President Who Led A Bloody Crackdown

Assad's life changed radically when his older brother Bassel, who was being groomed to inherit power from their father, was killed in a road accident in 1994 (Credit: AFP)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad oversaw a merciless crackdown on a pro-democracy revolt that morphed into one of the bloodiest wars of the century.

After facing down nationwide protests demanding his ouster and an armed rebellion that he all but crushed, he had until this month taken back control of much of Syria in the civil war that began in 2011.