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FILE - Then-President Bashar Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

FILE - Then-President Bashar Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

In this image from video provided by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Defense Minister Ali Abbas gives a televised statement about the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (SANA via AP)

In this image from video provided by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Defense Minister Ali Abbas gives a televised statement about the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (SANA via AP)

FILE - Bashar Assad, right, and his brother Maher Assad, center, stand during the funeral of their father, former President Hafez Assad, in Damascus, Syria, June 13, 2000. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Bashar Assad, right, and his brother Maher Assad, center, stand during the funeral of their father, former President Hafez Assad, in Damascus, Syria, June 13, 2000. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this photo released Nov. 9, 2019, by the official news agency SANA, then-President Bashar Assad speaks in Damascus, Syria. (SANA FILE via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo released Nov. 9, 2019, by the official news agency SANA, then-President Bashar Assad speaks in Damascus, Syria. (SANA FILE via AP, File)

FILE - An image of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad covers the facade of a provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam, File)

FILE - An image of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad covers the facade of a provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam, File)