French judges issue international arrest warrant against Syria's Assad

French judges on Wednesday issued an international arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for committing crimes against humanity.

Al-Assad was accused of committing crimes against humanity in the town of Douma and the district of Eastern Ghouta in August 2013, using banned chemical weapons, the human rights organization Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression said.

Warrants were also issued against the Syrian leader's brother, Maher al-Assad, and two other military generals, the center added.

Human rights organizations filed a complaint in March 2021, which led to an investigation a month later by the administrative court in Paris.

Lawyer Mazen Darwish, founder and director general of the center, hailed the warrants as "historic judicial precedent."

"It is a new victory for the victims, their families, and the survivors and a step on the path to justice and sustainable peace in Syria," he said.