CNN
6:54 PM - 8 Jan 13 · Details
Syrian minister: Enemies 'brainwashed' slain rebel son
From Joe Sterling. Salma Abdelaziz and Saad Abedine, CNN
updated 2:20 PM EST, Tue January 8, 2013
Syrian opposition fighters celebrating on the strategic Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain, on November 15, 2012.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- More than 100 deaths are reported Tuesday by the opposition
- The Syrian minister said his late rebel son was "brainwashed"
- Heavy rains bring discontent to Syrian refugees
- Battle for Taftanaz base is heating up
(CNN) -- A Syrian Cabinet minister confirmed the death of his rebel son, and, without a trace of grief, coldly rejected the young man's embrace of the opposition, according to a state news report.
"I disapprove and condemn whatever my son did," said Mohammad Turki al-Sayyed, minister of state for the People's Assembly Affairs, who acknowledged the death of his son Bassim. "I said it before and I disavow him again, fully even after his death."
Al-Sayyed's statement, reported by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, illustrates the collapse of Syrian family stability during the 22-month old conflict, now a full-blown civil war. The United Nations says more than 60,000 people have died in the carnage, which shows no signs of stopping.
As for Bassim al-Sayyed, one activist wrote on his Facebook page that he joined demonstrators at the start of the uprising in 2011. He later joined the Free Syrian Army and was killed in the fighting.
