A source close to Syrian Vice President and former Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa denied his death, hours after news broke about it.
The source, a relative of Sharaa, told Enab Baladi on Tuesday, July 16, that the news of Sharaa’s death is not true.
He denounced the repeated rumours about Sharaa’s defection or death, which have persisted since 2011.
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The announcement of Sharaa’s death coincided with political and security developments in Syria. This is not the first time that news of Sharaa’s death or defection from the regime has been reported since March 2011.
News of Sharaa’s death followed the killing of Syrian businessman and chairman of the board of directors of Qaterji Group, Baraa Ahmed Qaterji, in a bombing that targeted his car on Monday. On July 5, the special adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad died three days after it was announced she had been involved in a traffic accident on a road leading to Damascus.
In 2012, many rumours spread about Sharaa’s defection from the Syrian regime, but his office issued a statement in August, stressing that he “did not think at any moment to leave the homeland to any party.”
Rumours have suggested that he is banned from leaving Syria and is under house arrest, after his name was floated on more than one occasion as a potential leader for a transition in Syria, replacing Assad.
Sharaa did not appear alongside Bashar al-Assad in a photo for seven years, from March 2011 to November 2018, during a funeral ceremony for Major General Majid al-Azma, husband of Vice President Najah al-Attar.
During this period, Sharaa was absent from the political arena, fueling rumours about his arrest by the regime or defection.
His appearances were limited to the condolences of the late Syrian dissident Hussein al-Awdat, at the Dar al-Saada hall in the Mezzeh neighborhood in 2017.
Since the beginning of the revolution, Sharaa has advocated for a “strategic dialogue that seeks to change the face and structure of the state.”
Born in Daraa in 1938, Sharaa studied English literature at the University of Damascus and international law in London. He is one of the most prominent Syrian politicians during the era of Hafez al-Assad, serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1984 and then as Vice President of the Republic in 2006.
After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, local and international media quoted statements attributed to Sharaa, saying that neither the regime nor its opponents can resolve matters militarily.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
