Wife of Syrian president Assad diagnosed with cancer

World
Europe

The wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has begun treatment, the presidency said on Wednesday.

"Asma al-Assad is beginning the first stage of treatment for a malignant tumour in the breast that was discovered at an early stage," the presidency announced on its social media accounts.

The announcement came with a photo of the first lady, sitting in a hospital room with an intravenous drip inserted in her left arm, while her husband sat at her side.

Screenshot of the Syrian presidency's Twitter account.

The presidency did not specify where the first lady was being treated, but the word "military" was printed on a blanket visible in the picture, indicating she was likely in a government-run military hospital.

Born in 1975, the British-born former investment banker, who has two sons and a daughter with Assad, styled herself as a progressive rights advocate and was seen as the modern side of the Assad dynasty.

In 2012 however, she was among individuals targeted with EU sanctions over the war in Syria. She received a travel ban and saw her EU assets frozen, after reports emerged of her extravagant spending sprees even as fighting raged in her country.

She rarely appeared in public during the first few years of the uprising, but over the past two years has been much more active at charity events.

(Top picture: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma is seen at the Bristol hotel on December 11, 2010 in Paris. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP