In a recent development, Bashar al-Assad, the ousted Syrian President, has made his first public statement since being overthrown by rebel factions and seeking asylum in Russia.
Speaking from his refuge in Moscow, Assad vehemently denied any intention of abdicating or fleeing during the Syrian crisis. He asserted that he remained in Damascus until the last feasible moment before Islamist rebels from Ha'yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other militias took control of the city.
According to the Daily Mail, Assad claimed to have departed the capital for Russia's Hmeimim air base near Latakia in the early hours of December 8, just before the city fell into the hands of the rebels. In a statement disseminated via the Syrian Presidential Telegram channel, Assad addressed what he termed as 'a flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth'.
Assad stated, "My departure from Syria was neither planned nor during the final hours of the battles, as some claim. I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024. At no point did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught."
The former Syrian leader insisted that his evacuation from Syria was necessitated by a drone attack on the Hmeimim air base, which led Moscow to order his removal. Assad painted a picture of himself as a dedicated leader and family man who stood 'alongside his people' throughout the civil war, despite his forces, in alliance with Russia, Hezbollah, and Iranian-backed militias, being implicated in thousands of fatalities.
"I have never sought positions for personal gain but have always considered myself a custodian of a national project, supported by the faith of the Syrian people," he said, expressing his hope for a future where Syria is 'free and independent' once again.
The Daily Mail reported that Assad's last-minute evacuation involved a 'transponder trick' that allowed him to board his private jet and head for Russia's Hmeimim air base on the country's west coast. The flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed the presidential plane, believed to be carrying Assad, leaving Damascus airport in the early hours of December 8. The plane flew towards the Mediterranean Sea, made a U-turn, and then vanished from the map, presumably as pilots switched off the transponder that tracks flights and reports their position to air traffic control.
Meanwhile, the Islamist rebel group HTS is working to establish control over Syria, setting up a transition government and rolling out aid and services to civilians. However, the seemingly stable beginnings of the transition government mask the brewing civil war in the north, where Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants are infiltrating Kurdish-held areas. Reports suggest the SNA is looting Kurdish homes, and disturbing videos have emerged allegedly showing Turkish-aligned rebels executing wounded Kurdish soldiers.
Israel has also launched widespread airstrikes and bombing campaigns aimed at demolishing the weapons stockpiles and military hardware left behind by regime forces. Other reports suggest ISIS fighters captured and executed Syrian government forces as they fled the HTS onslaught through the Homs desert last week.
Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed that Assad was transported out of Syria 'in the most secure way possible'. When asked if Moscow would hand Assad over the International Criminal Court, he implied it would not, saying Russia 'is not party to the convention' that established it. Human rights groups have previously accused Assad of war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons on civilians.
Ryabkov justified Russia's aid in Assad's escape by saying he 'was accused by the same group of countries and governments that continuously defeat attempts to live their own ways as it happened in Iraq, in Libya and in many more', in a pointed reference to Western powers.
Russia's military might was instrumental in propping up the Assad regime throughout the 2010s, as Syrian government forces struggled to repel rebel advances. Vladimir Putin launched a military intervention in Syria from 2015, when Russia's air force and ground troops aided Syrian government forces along with Hezbollah and a patchwork of Iranian-backed militias.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, told international press this weekend that Russia was in contact with HTS and rebel groups in Syria regarding its military bases there. Putin has thus far declined to meet Assad, according to Russian media.
As HTS attempts to stabilise Syria, the group's military chief revealed the plan to topple Assad was years in the making. Abu Hassan al-Hamwi, the head of HTS' military wing, claimed the group had prepared for a renewed war against Assad's forces by uniting opposition groups, in the northern province of Idlib and consolidating military equipment including a drone arsenal.
The offensive began in earnest on November 27. Just two days later, the rebels shocked the world by taking Aleppo - the nation's second largest city that took Assad four years to seize. 'We had a conviction, supported by historical precedent, that 'Damascus cannot fall until Aleppo falls', said Al Hamwi. By December 8, the rebel groups had encircled Damascus. The unfolding events in Syria mark a significant shift in the region's political landscape, with the future of the war-torn nation hanging in the balance.
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