
While the country they created is ravaged by civil war, the men who built today's Syrian regime - along with their families - are living a much different reality.

Sleeping safely in their London and Paris mansions and driving their luxurious supercars, they enjoy a life far removed from that of most Syrian civilians.

They are the lucky few, relatives of three men who helped to establish the Assad clan's rule in Syria, starting with Hafez al-Assad's coup in 1970.

As Aleppo burns in flames, Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of current Syrian president Bashar, swaps between his nine-bedroom house in Mayfair, London, for a property in Marbella's exclusive Gray D-Albion estate.

Akram Junior, grandson of Mustafa Tlass, a former Syrian defence minister, shows no sign of letting the situation back in Syria trouble him, his social media pages awash with images displaying his vast wealth

Akram Junior happily posts pictures to his Facebook and Instagram accounts showing him driving Bugattis and Ferraris, to name just a few, or even Kalashnikov machine guns

Another image taken from the social media page of Akram Junior shows the incredible wealth he enjoys while living in Paris

Nahed Ojjeh (left), who inherited her large wealth following the death of her Saudi arm-dealing husband, is well known among Paris as a hostess of grand parties. She is the daughter of Mustafa Tlass, former defence minister to Hafez al-Assad

Meanwhile, his son Siwar isn't too far away, living in an eight-bedroom luxury home in the Crown Estate in leafy Oxshott in Surrey.

Then there is Abdel Halim Khaddam, who helped Hafez seize power in the seventies and forged the alliance between Syria and Iran which led to the killing of 241 US troops, and now lives in a gated road, the Villa Said, in Paris.

The third is Mustafa Tlass, former defence minister to Hafez who, like the other two men, now claim to be opposed to the current regime.

Tlass, 84, has also left Syria behind since the outbreak of civil war, and is perhaps outdone in terms of an opulent life by his daughter and grandson.

Nahed Ojjeh, who inherited her large wealth following the death of her Saudi arm-dealing husband, is well known among Paris as a hostess of grand parties.

The socialite's son Akram also shows no sign of letting the situation back in Syria trouble him, his social media pages awash with images displaying his vast wealth.

As Aleppo burns in flames, Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of current Syrian president Bashar, swaps between his nine-bedroom house in Mayfair, London, for a property in Marbella's exclusive Gray D-Albion estate

Rifaat has since spent more than 30 years living a life of luxury moving between homes in Paris, London and the southern Spanish city of Marbella (pictured is Marbella's exclusive Gray D-Albion estate)

While the country they created is ravaged by civil war, the men who built today's Syrian regime - along with their families - are living a much different reality

Akram also shows no sign of letting the situation back in Syria trouble him, his social media pages awash with images displaying his vast wealth

Akram Ojjeh Junior is the son of socialite Nahed Ojjeh, herself the daughter of Mustafa Tlass, 84, who left Syria behind since the outbreak of civil war

He happily posts pictures to his Facebook and Instagram accounts showing him driving Bugattis and Ferraris, to name just a few, or even Kalashnikov machine guns.

It may not last forever for at least one exile, however, with Rifaat al-Assad facing probes into how he amassed multi-million pound fortune despite being kicked out of Syria 'with nothing' 30 years ago.

Mr al-Assad went into exile in Europe after staging a failed coup against his brother Hafez al Assad, who was Syria's president at the time and is also Bashar's father.

He has since spent more than 30 years living a life of luxury moving between homes in Paris, London and the southern Spanish city of Marbella.

The inquiry into the former Syrian vice president's finances was triggered by Sherpa, an activist group representing the victims of financial crime, which claims his fortune was stolen during his time at the heart of the Syrian regime.

His family's assets, outlined by French customs in a May 2014 report, are valued at around £64million - much of it held through a web of businesses based in Luxembourg.

A wounded Syrian kid cries after the war-crafts belonging to the Russian army bombed the opposition controlled Firdevs neighborhood in Aleppo

Syrian Civil Defense workers search through the rubble in eastern Aleppo, Syria, after bombs were dropped on the area

Pictured during regime: Rifaat al-Assad (right) is seen with brother Hafez (left) and politician Abdel Halim Khaddam (centre)

The French probe also asks questions as to why the British government has not itself examined the coming and goings of Mr al-Assad and his sons.

Mr al-Assad has vehemently denied acquiring assets in France through illegal means.

A judge in Paris, named Renaud Van Ruymbeke, has frozen his French assets - mostly tied up in property and thought to be worth around £80 million.

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, spoke to Michael Sheridan, who undertook a special investigation on behalf of The Sunday Times.

He said: 'Rifaat al-Assad, Mustafa Tlass and Abdel Halim Khaddam were the kingpins and founding godfathers of the brutal Assad regime that has decimated Syria for decades.

'Having fleeced Syria for so much wealth, it is galling to Syrians to see them flaunt their ill-gotten millions all across Europe while millions of Syrians languish in refugee camps.'