Until a few weeks ago, he was among the strongest men in Syria — if not the strongest — but Javad Ghaffari’s last battle in the war-torn country was this time with no one other than the ruling elite he came to the country to defend.
“He became a liability,” an official Syrian source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “The time has changed, and he still wants to act as per the rules of war, when the war is almost over.”