Syrian President Bashar Assad’s mother Anisa Makhluf has supposedly fled Syria to seek refuge in Dubai, joining her daughter Bushra who had already defected to the UAE capital a few months ago.
According to sources who spoke with the French news agency AFP, Assad's mother has been in Dubai for approximately ten days now and is staying in the apartment next door to her daughter's.
Bushra's husband Assef Shawqat was the deputy chief of staff of the Syrian Armed Forces and former head of the Syrian Military Intelligence until he was killed in a bombing in Damascus on July 18th. After her husband's death, Bushra fled Syria with her five children and defected to the United Arab Emirates.
The departure of Anisa Makhluf is widely seen as a sign that Bashar Assad has begun to lose the support of even his staunchest backers within his family. According to the Arab press, Makhluf's businessman nephew Rami is a prominent figure in the Baath Party and is also one of the Assad regime's main financial sources.
With the departure of Assad's mother, this leaves Bashar and his brother Maher Assad and their families as the sole remaining family members in Syria. Anisa Makhluf, who is rarely seen photographed in the press and little is known about her outside of her close-knit family, is speculated to be at the age of 80. According to information released by WikiLeaks, Makhluf has said in the past that she fears her son Bashar's end may be similar to the demise of Libya's overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi.
"IF ASSAD GOES SYRIA WILL BE DESTROYED"
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem says that a transition period without Bashar Assad is "unacceptable." Muallem was speaking on Syria state television when he referred to those who foresee a solution without Assad in power as being supporters of violence and the destruction of Syria. During the broadcast, Muallem invited regime supporters and the opposition to collaborate for the future of their children.
PYD and Free Syrian Army in conflict
Thirty-three people were killed in conflict that arose between the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian leg of the PKK terrorist organization the PYD (Democratic Union Party). The conflict, which has erupted in the Rasulayn district, supposedly resulted in the deaths of 28 members of the Free Syrian Army and five from the PYD. Meanwhile, at least 30 people were killed in other regions throughout Syria over the past two days.