14/03/2014 18:50
Syria's foreign minister in hospital for heart condition
Syria's top diplomat was admitted to a hospital in Lebanon on Thursday evening to address a heart issue, diplomatic sources told CNN on Friday.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem was admitted to the American University of Beirut Medical Center's intensive care unit, where medical personnel are considering whether to perform open-heart surgery to remedy the ongoing issue, according to the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity. Doctors there first attempted a cardiac catheterization, but the procedure failed, the sources said.
A nurse at the facility confirmed to CNN that al-Moallem was admitted to the hospital, and said she didn't have information about his condition. The nurse spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the news media.
The medical center's media office declined to comment, citing medical privacy rights.
Al-Moallem has been one of the most prominent public faces for Syria's government during the country's roughly three-year civil war, which the United Nations says has killed well more than 100,000 people and injured more than 680,000 others.
Last month al-Moallem, a firm defender of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, met with the international group charged with removing chemical weapons from Syria, discussing the program's progress, the state-run SANA news agency said.
Chemical weapons are being removed from Syria under a deal that the country made with world powers to stave an American military strike, which was threatened after allegations the Syrian government used sarin nerve gas in an August 21 attack on a Damascus suburb.