Assad gives account of last hours as president of Syria

Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power, saying he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim Air Base on the evening of 8 December as it came under drone attack, after leaving Damascus that morning with rebel fighters closing in, Reuters reports.

His written statement was published on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel and dated today from Moscow, where he has been granted asylum.

He was ousted after insurgent forces led by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham swept through Syria in a lightning offensive, ending more than 50 years of iron-fisted rule by his family.

“At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual party,” Assad said in the statement detailing the circumstances leading to his departure from Syria.

Bashar Assad’s official channel releases a statement on the reasons behind his escape to Moscow.

“I did not leave Damascus in a planned manner, but rather stayed until the early morning hours of December 8.

I moved to the Hmeimim base to continue my work from there, and with… pic.twitter.com/Oa0cqbQsnc

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 16, 2024

He said he had remained in the capital Damascus, carrying out his duties until the early hours of 8 December.

“As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations,” he said.

But upon arriving at the Russian air base of Hmeimim that morning “it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen.”

The Russian military base came “under intensified attack by drone strikes” and “with no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia,” the statement said.

The Kremlin said on 9 December that President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to grant Assad asylum in Russia, which deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to help him repel rebel forces.

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