Syria, Assad's wife seriously ill: “She has leukemia”

(Adnkronos) – Asma al-Assad, wife of the deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, is reportedly fighting leukemia and has a 50% chance of survival. This was reported by The Telegraph, according to which the former first lady of British origin has been isolated to minimize the risk of infection and is undergoing treatment.

Asma had previously battled breast cancer in 2019, from which she recovered after a year of treatment. But his leukemia is believed to have returned after a period of remission. The Syrian presidency announced in May this year that the then first lady had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the bone marrow and blood.

Born in London in 1975 to Syrian parents, Asma al-Assad has dual British and Syrian citizenship. He earned degrees in computer science and French literature at King's College London before embarking on a career in investment banking. Asma married Bashar al-Assad in December 2000. The couple has three sons: Hafez, Zein and Karim.

On 8 December, following a rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against the regime in Damascus, the family fled Syria and took refuge in Russia. Asma appears to have been trying to exile herself to London with her children since the Syrian uprising began, but British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the former Syrian first lady was not welcome in the UK.

Reports suggest she also filed for divorce from the ousted Syrian president because she was “dissatisfied” with her life in Moscow. However, the Kremlin rejected the rumours, saying they “do not correspond to reality”.