Asma al-Assad, wife of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is reportedly battling leukaemia and has been given a 50 percent chance of survival.
According to a report by the Britiah daily The Telegraph, Asma is said to be undergoing treatment and has been isolated to prevent infection and was prohibited from sharing a room with others.
In May this year, Syrian presidency announced that the then-first lady has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, following her 2019 complete recovery from breast cancer.
However, the report suggests that Asma’s leukaemia has resurfaced after a period of remission.
She has been under the care of her father Fawaz Akhras, a London-based cardiologist, for six months, initially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and now in Moscow.
Bashar al-Assad and his family fled Syria and sought refuge in Moscow on Sunday, December 8, following an 11-day rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), following years of civil war.
Assad is facing severe Russian restrictions, including being barred from leaving or engaging in political activities, and his assets have been frozen, a claim denied by the Kremlin.
Since the start of the Syrian uprising, she has been reportedly planning to exile herself and her children to London.
According to the latest reports, she has also filed for divorce from Bashar al-Assad due to dissatisfaction with her life in Moscow and is seeking treatment in London. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has denied the claims, saying that they do not align with reality.
Asma, born in London in 1975 to Syrian parents, currently holds dual British and Syrian citizenship. Asma and Bashar al-Assad married in December 2000. The couple has three children—Hafez, Zein, and Karim.
