Syria first lady Asma al-Assad diagnosed with leukemia: President’s office

Almost five years after Syrian First Lady Asma Assad announced her full recovery from breast cancer, the office of President Bashar Assad announced on Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with leukemia.

Assad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia after presenting several symptoms and undergoing a comprehensive series of medical tests, according to the statement.

Acute myeloid leukemia is a highly aggressive cancer affecting the bone marrow and blood. As part of her treatment plan, she will follow a specialised protocol that includes stringent infection prevention measures and will temporarily withdraw from all direct engagements.

Since the onset of Syria’s war in 2011, the British-born former investment banker has taken on a public role in leading charity efforts and meeting with the families of deceased soldiers. However, she has also become a target of animosity from the opposition. She heads the Syria Trust for Development, a prominent NGO overseeing many of Syria’s aid and development operations.

The conflict in Syria began with peaceful protests against Assad’s government in March 2011, which were met with a brutal crackdown, escalating into a full-blown civil war. The war has resulted in the deaths of nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.

The announcement of Assad’s diagnosis came as her influential NGO, the Syrian Trust for Development, was putting on its annual Damascene Rose Festival celebrating the rose harvest season.

Prior to the announcement of that she would be withdrawing from public events, the first lady had been widely expected to attend the festivities.

Last year, she accompanied her husband, President Bashar al-Assad on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, her first known official trip abroad with him since 2011. She met Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Emirati president’s mother, during a trip seen as a public signal of her growing role in public affairs.

Asma Assad has previously been treated for breast cancer. In August 2019, she announced that she was “completely” free of the disease a year after her diagnosis.

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, although her family is originally from central Syria, the first lady is a powerful and divisive figure. She is under Western sanctions and has been a highly controversial figure in the course of the Syrian conflict.

With inputs from agencies.