Former Syrian President speaks for first time since being overthrown

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he was evacuated from a Russian base in Syria due to an attack and had no prior plans to leave the country.

In a statement posted on the Syrian President’s Telegram channel on December 16, the former Syrian leader said he left the capital Damascus on the morning of December 8 when opposition forces approached. He was then evacuated from the Russian Hmeimim military base in Latakia province (Syria) to Russia without any prior preparation.

Former Syrian President speaks for first time since being overthrown

"My departure from Syria was not planned and did not take place in the final hours of the battles as some sides claim. I stayed in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of December 8. When the terrorist forces entered Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to supervise the combat operations," AFP quoted the statement as saying.

After Mr. al-Assad arrived at the Hmeimim air base in Latakia, the situation became clearer as Syrian government forces completely withdrew from all front lines and the last fighting positions collapsed.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation conference in Saudi Arabia in November 2023

"As the situation on the ground in the region continues to deteriorate, the Russian military base has come under intense drone attacks. With no other viable options for leaving the base, Moscow has asked the base command to arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia," the statement said.

The former leader said the evacuation came a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the last military positions and the paralysis of the entire state apparatus.

Russian military helicopter Ka-50 flies over Hmeimim base in Latakia (Syria) on December 14.

According to the statement, Mr. al-Assad affirmed that he had never considered resigning or seeking asylum, and that no party had made such a proposal. "The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist attack," Mr. al-Assad said.

Also in the announcement, Mr. al-Assad said that any new positions were meaningless when the state fell into the hands of "terrorism".

It is unclear whether Mr al-Assad controls the Telegram account that posted the statement. If confirmed, it would be his first since his ouster.

The opposition coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) began its offensive in northern Syria in late November. On December 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had resigned and left the country after ordering a peaceful transfer of power.

On December 9, Russian state media confirmed that Mr. al-Assad and his family had arrived in Russia and were granted asylum. In an interview with NBC News broadcast on December 10, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia had organized a flight to bring Mr. al-Assad safely out of Syria.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cuu-tong-thong-syria-lan-dau-len-tieng-sau-khi-bi-lat-do-185241216212454695.htm