Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad revealed that he had planned to continue fighting rebel forces in the country until Russia evacuated him.
“My departure from Syria was neither premeditated nor did it occur in the final hours of the conflict,” Assad, 59, said in a written message shared via Telegram. Assad claimed Syria is now “in the hands of terrorism”.
Assad’s reported statement was put on the Telegram channel belonging to the Syrian presidency on December 16.
In it he said that, as the Syrian capital fell to rebels, he went to the Russian military base in Latakia province “to oversee combat operations” only to see that Syrian troops had abandoned positions.
Hmeimim base had also come under “intensified attack by drone strikes” and the Russians had decided to airlift him to Moscow, the ousted Syria leader said.
Assad stated that he remained in Damascus until the early hours of December 8 — the day rebel forces entered the Syrian capital.
As the rebels advanced through the city, Assad said he moved north to Lattakia, working alongside Russian allies to manage military operations. He explained that it was at the nearby Hmeimim airbase that it became clear Syrian forces had fully retreated from all battle fronts and that the last remaining military positions had fallen.
Assad recounted that with no feasible escape route from the base, which had been increasingly targeted by drone strikes, Moscow requested an immediate evacuation to Russia that evening.
“This occurred a day after the fall of Damascus,” he added. Assad insisted that up until that moment, he had not considered “stepping down or seeking refuge”.
Now in exile, Assad added that his “profound sense of belonging to Syria” remains unshaken.
Assad and his family fled to Russia as city after city fell to rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) within a period of 11 days.
Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000, succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron grip for nearly three decades.
The rebels groups are continuing to form a transitional government in Syria.
See insights
Boost a post
Like
Comment
Send
Share
