Syria’s deposed President Bashar al-Assad said in a statement attributed to him on Monday that he had no intention of leaving the country amid the rebels’ advance towards Damascus, but that Russia had evacuated him.
“At no point during these events did I consider resigning or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party,” al-Assad said in an unverified statement on the Telegram- channel of the Syrian presidency.
“My departure from Syria was not planned and did not take place during the last hours of the fighting, as some claim,” added al-Assad, who took power in Syria in 2000 after the death of his father.
He remained in Damascus until the early hours of December 8 before moving to a Russian base in the coastal city of Latakia “to oversee combat operations”.
Afterwards, the Hmeimim base came under intensified drone strikes, prompting Moscow to arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of December 8.
Syrian rebels took control of Damscus last week after making major territorial gains against al-Assad’s forces during a lightning offensive in the war-torn country.
A man burns a photo of Bashar al-Assad near Syria’s border with Lebanon. Rebels launched a shock offensive across Syria in late November, ousting al-Assad and ending more than half a century of Assad family rule. Sally Hayden/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
