His written statement used to be printed on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel and dated Dec. 16 from Moscow, where he has been granted asylum
Reuters
17 December, 2024, 07:35 am
Final modified: 17 December, 2024, 07:40 am
Syria’s Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from vitality, asserting he used to be evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim disagreeable on Dec. 8 because it came under drone assault, after leaving Damascus that morning with revolt fighters closing in.
His written statement used to be printed on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel and dated Dec. 16 from Moscow, where he has been granted asylum.
He used to be ousted after rebel forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham swept thru Syria in a lightning offensive, ending more than 50 years of iron-fisted rule by his household.
“At no point within the course of these events did I rob into consideration stepping down or searching for refuge, nor used to be this sort of proposal made by any individual celebration,” Assad acknowledged within the statement detailing the conditions leading to his departure from Syria.
He acknowledged he had remained within the capital Damascus, accomplishing his duties till the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 8.
“As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee fight operations”, he acknowledged.
But upon arriving at the Russian air disagreeable of Hmeimim that morning “it modified into particular that our forces had entirely withdrawn from all fight traces and that the final army positions had fallen”.
The Russian army disagreeable came “under intensified assault by drone strikes” and “and not utilizing a viable map of leaving the disagreeable, Moscow requested that the disagreeable’s show enviornment up a remark evacuation to Russia”, the statement acknowledged.
The Kremlin acknowledged on Dec. 9 that President Vladimir Putin had made the map to grant Assad asylum in Russia, which deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to assist him repel revolt forces.
Reuters reported final week that Assad confided in practically no one about his plans to flee Syria. Instead, aides, officers and even kinfolk were deceived or kept at nighttime, more than a dozen of us with knowledge of the events speedy Reuters.
