---
title: "France seeks arrest of Assad, six other former top Syrian officials over 2012 attack"
description: "PARIS, Sept 2 (Reuters) - French investigating judges have issued arrest warrants for seven former top Syrian officials, including ex-President Bashar al-Assad, for the bombing of a press centre in Homs in 2012, a judicial source and a human rights organisation said on Tuesday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-09-02-france-seeks-arrest-of-assad-six-other-former-top-syrian-officials-over-2012-attack/"
published: "2025-09-02T21:07:02"
updated: "2025-09-02T21:07:04"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 249
---

# France seeks arrest of Assad, six other former top Syrian officials over 2012 attack

> PARIS, Sept 2 (Reuters) - French investigating judges have issued arrest warrants for seven former top Syrian officials, including ex-President Bashar al-Assad, for the bombing of a press centre in Homs in 2012, a judicial source and a human rights organisation said on Tuesday.

By Reuters · Published 2 September 2025, 23:07 SAST · Updated 2 September 2025, 23:07 SAST

## Key points
- In a dramatic twist worthy of a spy novel, seven former Syrian officials are now facing European arrest warrants for allegedly turning a blind eye to war crimes, including the infamous 2012 rocket attack that claimed the lives of journalist Marie Colvin and photographer Remi Ochlik, proving once again that in the world of international justice, accountability is the ultimate game of hide and seek.
- Homs, once a rebel stronghold, faced a brutal siege from Assad forces between 2011 and 2014, culminating in a rebel withdrawal.
- A 2012 rocket attack on an informal press centre killed journalist Marie Colvin and photographer Remi Ochlik, injuring others.
- Seven former officials are accused of complicity in war crimes related to the attack, with France issuing European arrest warrants.
- A judicial investigation revealed the attack was a deliberate attempt by the Syrian regime to target foreign journalists and stifle media coverage.

## Content

Homs, in western Syria, was a major rebel stronghold during the Syrian civil war and was besieged by Assad government forces from 2011 to 2014. The siege ended with anti-Assad rebels withdrawing from the city.

A rocket hit the "informal press centre" on February 22, 2012, killing renowned American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik and injuring two other journalists and an interpreter.

The International Federation for Human Rights said the seven former officials had been accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity for the attack on the centre.

France allows the filing of crimes against humanity cases in its courts. The judicial source said the seven European arrest warrants had been issued last month.

Another human rights organisation, the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression, said the French judicial investigation had found that the attack had deliberately targeted foreign journalists.

"The judicial investigation clearly established that the attack on the informal press centre in Bab Amr was part of the Syrian regime's explicit intention to target foreign journalists in order to limit media coverage of its crimes and force them to leave the city and the country," said Mazen Darwish, a lawyer and the general director of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, in a statement.

Assad [fled to Russia](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N3SG0JI&linkedFromStory=true) in December 2024 when insurgent forces seized Syria with a rapid offensive, ending more than five decades of rule by his family.

(Reporting by Makini BriceEditing by Gareth Jones)