2024-12-08 17:58:00
Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia following the capture of Damascus by the rebels and the collapse of Assad’s regime. They have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities on “humanitarian grounds”, several Russian news agencies reported on Sunday.
The reports seem to have ended the suspense surrounding his whereabouts following his government being toppled in Syria and him subsequently fleeing the country.
“President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds,” an unnamed source was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Assad had boarded a plane early on Sunday in Damascus for a destination that was not known. There was also no official announcement on Sunday of the whereabouts of Assad’s wife Asma or their children.
Reports had also hinted at the disappearance of the plane that Assad had boarded in Damascus. According to news agency Reuters, two Syrian sources said this could indicate the plane had been shot down, or that it had switched off its transponder.
Later, Russia, one of Assad’s closest allies, confirmed that he had left Syria but did not say where he was. “As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
There was speculation that Assad may seek refuge in Russia or Iran, two of its closest allies. But, reports have now suggested that Assad and his family are in Moscow, and have been granted asylum there.
Notably, Assad had visited Moscow just before the rebel offensive.
Assad’s government was toppled at the hands of Syria’s rebel fighters, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Free Syrian Army, the Kurdish factions, and the Syrian National Army. Several rebels stormed into Damascus on Sunday, ending his nearly six decades of iron-fist rule in Syria.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel faction said in a statement, “We announce today, 12-8-2024, the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria.”
Syria has been ruled by the Assad family for over five decades, with President Bashar al-Assad taking power in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez Assad.
