Al-Arabiya is reporting that Syrian President Bashar Assad's mother has defected. She joined her daughter Bushra in the UAE, who had left the country last fall. President Bashar al-Assad's mother Anisa Makhlouf and other members of his inner circle have fled to the United Arab Emirates as the regime of the embattled president appeared to disintegrate, recent reports confirmed. Anisa has joined her daughter, Bushra, who had previously fled to Dubai, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat quoted Robert Ford, U.S. ambassador to Syria until the break of the relations between the two countries. Anisa, the widow of late president Hafez al-Assad, is believed to be in her late seventies. Her daughter Bushra fled Syria with her children following the killing of her husband Assef Shawkat who was the deputy Minister of Defense of Syria. He was killed in a targeted operation by opposition forces in July 2012. Ford was also quoted by CNN earlier this week as saying: "Members of the ...(Read Full Post)