Unconfirmed reports of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s shooting highlight chaos in country
Assad was supposedly shot by his Iranian bodyguard Saturday night, with at least one website saying he had been ‘assassinated.’ But other online updates by Arab and Israeli media say the report was untrue.
By Erik Ortiz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, March 24, 2013, 3:35 PM
Sergei Supinsky/Getty
Syrian President Bashar Assad was rumored to have been shot Saturday,
according to Arab and Israeli media reports. But updated stories Sunday
said the reports were unconfirmed.
Online reports of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s death appeared greatly exaggerated Sunday.
Arab media said Assad was purportedly shot by one of his Iranian bodyguards Saturday night and was in serious condition.
He was supposedly taken to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus, where surrounding roads were closed off.
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Israel News One’s website even reported that Assad had been “assassinated.”
But online updates said the Syrian leader’s shooting was false and that he was alive and in high spirits. The conflicting reports highlight the chaos that continues to engulf the country, which has been mired in a bloody civil war for two years.
In the latest turn of events Sunday, the leader of the Western-backed
Syrian opposition coalition announced he was stepping down.
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Moaz al-Khatib didn’t detail what motivated his decision, according to a statement on Facebook.
But he said he now has the ability to “work with freedom that cannot be available within the official institutions.”
Al-Khatib also said the international community has failed to adequately support the rebels’ fight against Assad.
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The United States has provided $114 million in aid to the Syrian opposition, the U.S. ambassador to Syria told Congress earlier this month — a higher figure than previously stated.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who made a surprise visit to Iraq on Sunday, said he wasn’t shocked to see al-Khatib resign.
“I have appreciated his leadership, but the notion that he might resign has frankly been expressed by him on many different occasions in many different places, and it is not a surprise,” Kerry said.
Some 70,000 Syrians have died during the conflict, according to the United Nations.
With News Wire Services
eortiz@nydailynews.com
Arab media said Assad was purportedly shot by one of his Iranian bodyguards Saturday night and was in serious condition.
He was supposedly taken to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus, where surrounding roads were closed off.
RELATED: ISRAEL FIRES INTO SYRIA, DESTROYS MACHINE-GUN POSITION IN GOLAN HEIGHTS
Israel News One’s website even reported that Assad had been “assassinated.”
But online updates said the Syrian leader’s shooting was false and that he was alive and in high spirits. The conflicting reports highlight the chaos that continues to engulf the country, which has been mired in a bloody civil war for two years.
STRINGER/REUTERS
Syrians chant slogans while holding Syrian opposition flags during a protest marking two years since the start of the uprising in 2011. The resignation of the opposition leader's most prominent figure adds to disarray.
RELATED: SYRIANS TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF CHEMICAL ATTACK
Moaz al-Khatib didn’t detail what motivated his decision, according to a statement on Facebook.
But he said he now has the ability to “work with freedom that cannot be available within the official institutions.”
Al-Khatib also said the international community has failed to adequately support the rebels’ fight against Assad.
RELATED: SYRIA’S CHILDREN TORTURED, RAPED, SHOT: CHARITY REPORT
Manu Brabo/AP
A Syrian man cries outside the Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria, after his daughter was injured during a Syrian Air Force strike over a school where hundreds of refugees had taken shelter.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who made a surprise visit to Iraq on Sunday, said he wasn’t shocked to see al-Khatib resign.
“I have appreciated his leadership, but the notion that he might resign has frankly been expressed by him on many different occasions in many different places, and it is not a surprise,” Kerry said.
Some 70,000 Syrians have died during the conflict, according to the United Nations.
With News Wire Services
eortiz@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/rumors-assad-shooting-highlights-syria-chaos-article-1.1297939#ixzz2OauBWhh9
