Luna Shibl, an adviser to Syrian president Bashar Assad, died on Friday three days after she was involved in a car accident, the office of the president said.
“The presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic mourns the death of the adviser Luna Al-Shibl, who passed away today after a serious car accident,” it said in a statement.
“She served in recent years as a director of the political and media office of the presidency and then as a special adviser to the presidency,” it added.
State media reported on Tuesday that Shibl was involved in a traffic accident on Yaa’four Road in Damascus, suffering a “cerebral haemorrhage” after her car “veered off the road,” after which she was taken to a clinic near the crash site and then transferred to intensive care in Al-Shami Hospital in the Syrian capital.
The 48-year-old rose to prominence for quitting a prestigious journalism career at Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera to become Assad’s media adviser.
She carved out a place within Assad’s inner circle as she accompanied him to high-level meetings in Syria and on his rare visits abroad and played an important role during the most intense years of the Syrian civil war. She was part of the delegation to ultimately doomed peace talks in 2014.
source: Arab News
