Assad's health in critical condition, reports claim

Bashar al-Assad, the leader of Assad regime is in critical condition, an Al Jazeera TV personality claimed on Sunday.

Faisal al-Qassim, a famous TV personality who hosts 'The Opposite Direction' on Al Jazeera, said on his Twitter account that Assad is 'bedridden' but not in a coma.

Qassim suggested that Assad should take it as a 'divine message' to stop the killing of Syrian people.

Meanwhile, Lebanese daily al-Mustaqbal reported on Saturday that Assad had been hospitalized over cerebral infarction.

Al-Diyar daily also claimed that Assad had had a stroke, while Saudi Asharq al-Awsat daily reported that Assad had been hospitalized.

The Assad regime denied the claims in a statement published on Facebook, saying that Assad's health is in good condition.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests - which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings - with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the conflict and millions more displaced.