CNN’s Clarissa Ward reported from inside one of numerous garages owned by former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad filled with Aston Martins and Lamborghinis on Friday.
Ward reported to anchor John Berman that Assad was “literally living like a king” while much of his country “struggled to put food on the table.”
Ward walked through just one of Assad’s garages, of which there are dozens, many of which were stacked with armored cars.
“I don’t know how anyone would need so many armored cars,” she said.
The garage and expensive cars indicate the “deep corruption in the state,” Ward added.
“The reason this is all significant, John, the reason we’re talking about this, that we’re showing you this is because really this is indicative of the deep, deep corruption of the Assad regime, which is a big part of why this whole uprising started in the first place back in 2011,” she reported.
Assad’s regime was overthrown by rebel forces who made their way to Damascus and took control of the presidential palace. Assad has reportedly fled to Russia amid the uprising.
“We actually watched in the presidential palace some ordinary people who managed to sneak in walking around with their jaws dropped. They could not believe how he was living at a time when Syria was suffering so acutely. And so this really is a metaphor for the root of the rot of where it all started,” she said.
The future of the country and its handling of law and order remains in question, Ward warned, as Islamic law is being upheld at least for now by rebel forces.
“When we went into the palace, the rebels who were guarding it, would not talk to me or look at me until I put my scarf on and so as much as they are making these moves and saying things such as people can wear what they want, this is a pluralistic society, we respect the rights of minorities, you do still have absolutely extremely conservative tendencies from the majority of these rebel forces,” she said.
Watch above via CNN.
