Leaked video recordings of Bashar al-Assad have shown the former Syrian president insulting the country and mocking its citizens.
The clips, obtained by Al Arabiya, were reportedly recorded by Luna al-Shibl, a prominent journalist and presidential adviser, during a tour of Eastern Ghouta in 2018.
In one clip, Assad is seen insulting Ghouta, an area east of Damascus that was controlled by opposition forces until early 2018.
"God damn Abu al-Ghouta," he says, laughing with al-Shibl.
In another, al-Shibl is heard criticising Hezbollah, which sent thousands of fighters into Syria to support Assad's forces.
"Hezbollah used to brag they were masters of street fighting. Now they've vanished. We don't hear about them," she says.
Al-Shibl served as Assad's media adviser. She died in a car crash near Damascus in July 2024.
The videos show Assad driving a Honda around areas of Ghouta, interacting with soldiers and commenting on the state of the country.
"Not just shame, you also feel disgust, this is our country?" he says.
Another clip shows Assad and al-Shibl mock Syrian soldiers who greeted the president and kissed his hand.
"Everyone wants to kiss the hands," al-Shibl says laughing.
The footage also shows the two mocking loyalist Suhail al-Hassan, who led the Tiger Forces special operations unit and was nicknamed 'the tiger'.
"He went up Qasioun mountain guarded by his Russian escorts, dangling his legs off the mountain. Not a good look. They call him the Tiger of Qasioun. We're barely done with the Lion of Diplomacy nickname, now the Tiger of Qasioun," al-Shibl says.
Assad describes him as "a man of strange theories" and suggests he might have to change his surname.
The release of the footage comes ahead of the one-year anniversary of Assad's ouster.
The former president fled the country on 8 December 2024 following a lightening offensive by Islamist-led opposition forces.
Assad has since been living in exile in Moscow.