Asma al-Assad, the British wife of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, is suffering from leukemia and has been given only a 50% chance of surviving the cancer.
"Asma is dying," a source who has been in communications with a family representative told The Telegraph. "She can’t be in the same room with anyone [because of her condition]."
Another source who has been in contact with the family, in exile in Moscow after rebel forces overthrew the Syrian government, said, "When leukemia comes back, it’s vicious. She has been 50/50 in the last few weeks," the outlet reported Wednesday.
Asma al-Assad's father, cardiologist Fawaz Akhras, has been caring for his daughter and is said to be "heartbroken" by her illness.
The Syrian presidency announced in May that the former first lady, who previously had been treated for breast cancer, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Asma al-Assad, 49, is a dual Syrian-British national. She is believed to have flown to Moscow for treatment before the Kremlin talked her husband into fleeing from the rebel advances.
The disclosure about the former first lady comes after reports said she wants a divorce and wants to seek treatment in London. The Kremlin has denied the reports that she wants to leave her husband, and the couple has not commented.
Robert Jenrick, a shadow justice secretary, said it would be an "affront to the millions of Assad’s victims if his wife returned to a life of luxury in the U.K."
The former first lady grew up in Acton, West London, with her father and mother, Sahar, a former diplomat at the Syrian Embassy. She has two brothers who also are doctors.
The Assads started dating in 1992. At that time, Bashar al-Assad was not expected to succeed his father in office, but he became heir apparent when his brother Bassel died in a car accident. He then became president in 2000.
The former first lady has been sanctioned for her support of her husband, and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said this month he would do "everything I can in my power" to make sure no member of the Assad family comes to England.
The Assads have three children and have been joined in Moscow by members of their extended family. Their oldest son, Hafez, a doctorate student, was already in Moscow when his father was ousted from office.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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