In anticipation of sanctions, the family of the Syrian president is selling real estate in the US and Europe

Family members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have put up property for sale in London and some other European cities.

The cost of the Assad family's apartments and houses for sale is estimated at approximately $15 million, Qatari satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera reports. In addition to the British capital, Assad’s relatives are also going to sell real estate in Spain and the United States.

The largest owner of real estate abroad is the uncle of the Syrian leader, Rufat Assad, who in the West is called the “butcher of Hama” for his active role in the massacre when the Syrian authorities brutally suppressed the uprising in the city of Hama in 1982, Mayak radio clarifies. According to various estimates, from 17 to 40 thousand people died then.

The reasons why Assad’s relatives are getting rid of foreign assets are not specified. Most likely, this is due to the sanctions that European countries and the United States apply to the Syrian leadership due to the fact that the ruling Assad regime is using too harsh measures to suppress popular unrest, in which about 3 thousand people have already died.

Mass popular protests in Syria demanding the resignation of the president began earlier this year.