icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
25 Mar, 2013 01:57

Assad death report dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ rumor

Assad death report dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ rumor

Media websites were abuzz with rumors of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s death on Sunday, after he had supposedly been shot the previous day. But RT later heard from a source close to the government that the news is completely untrue.

The president was reportedly shot dead by his Iranian bodyguard, then taken to a Damascus hospital, as roads were blocked and the surrounding buildings seized by government forces.  Then, French weekly, Le Point, reported that the news was denied by the Free Syrian Army. All while some Israeli and Lebanese sources confirmed Assad’s death.

However, a source close to the Syrian government, in a conversation with RT, has dismissed the rumors as outlandish, and the fact that the news had spread at all, bizarre. “It’s not true. Definitely it’s not. The first one to bring this news was an Israeli [website] so it’s a shame to all the news channels, newspapers and websites copying this thing without any source. Just the Israeli website brought this news and all the channels [used]. So it’s ridiculous. And he [Assad] doesn’t have an Iranian bodyguard.”

Social media websites like Facebook and Twitter have widely been blamed for the rumor spreading so quickly.

Podcasts
0:00
23:13
0:00
25:0