The grave of former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad has been desecrated, newarab.com reported.
Unknown individuals have dug up the grave of the father of war criminal Bashar al-Assad and taken his remains to an unknown location.
Images and videos circulated on social media on Monday show an emptied and dug up grave.
Syrian opponents of the regime stormed the tomb after government forces withdrew from Qardaha (in the western part of the country). There were then footage of protesters setting fire to the mausoleum, with some even urinating on the tombstone in defiance after the end of decades of authoritarian rule.
For more than two decades, Bashar al-Assad's regime had turned Hafez's tomb into a shrine, requiring visiting dignitaries, soldiers and citizens to pay public homage to the late ruler, who remains a deeply polarizing figure.
While his supporters praised him for bringing stability to Syria, critics, including many opposition groups, accused him of laying the foundation for the repression and corruption that were among the causes of the civil war.
Local residents of Qardaha expressed deep dissatisfaction with the construction of the lavish mausoleum in their impoverished town. The anger simmered for years as much of Syria fell into poverty while the Assad family retained its vast wealth and privileges. The exact timing of the exhumation and the current location of the remains remain unknown.