Ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has reportedly survived an assassination bid via poisoning which left him “struggling to breathe” despite been under Vladimir Putin’s protection in Moscow since December 8 last year.
The claims have been made by an online account called General SVR which is allegedly run by a former top spy in Russia.
The report says the 59-year-old Assad was taken ill on Sunday after asking for medical help and immediately began to “cough violently and choke”.
His condition is said to have stabilised by Monday and tests reportedly confirmed poison in his body.
The former Syrian leader and his wife Asma fled the country for Moscow in December after nearly two decades in power.
He was ousted by rebels following a long bloody civil war that began in 2011 and saw him being propped up by Russia and Iran.
The United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war win September 2014 with the stated aim of fighting the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) terrorist organization.
On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a major offensive spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.