Fatshimetrie: Bashar al-Assad’s Unexpected Exit from Syria
In a statement posted Monday on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram account, and attributed to Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president claims that his departure from the country was unplanned. The statement claims that Assad visited the Russian airbase in Hmeimim in Syria on the morning of Sunday, December 8, and that Russia asked him to evacuate when the base was attacked.
It is still unclear whether Assad still controls the Telegram account. If the statement is authentic, it would be the first time he has publicly commented on events since the fall of his regime this month.
“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor occurred during the final hours of the fighting, as some have claimed. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, fulfilling my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024,” the statement from the Syrian Presidency’s Telegram account said.
The statement also claimed that Assad learned after arriving at the Hmeimim airbase that “the last army positions had fallen.” “With no viable way to leave the base, Moscow asked the base command to organize an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday, December 8. This happened a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the last military positions and the subsequent paralysis of all remaining state institutions,” the statement said.
“At no time during these events did I consider resigning or seeking refuge, and no proposal to do so was made by anyone. The only way out was to continue fighting the terrorist onslaught,” the statement added.
Assad suggested that his presidency became “purposeless” after the country was taken over by “terrorists.” “When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes meaningless, rendering its occupation futile,” he added.
On the morning of December 8, Syrian rebels declared the capital Damascus “liberated” after entering it with little resistance from regime forces.
Assad and his family arrived in Moscow after being granted asylum in Russia on “humanitarian” grounds, a Russian official source told CNN on the night of December 8.
The Kremlin said late Wednesday that ensuring the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions in Syria was of “utmost importance,” noting that Moscow had maintained contacts with the new leadership in Damascus.
“We need to maintain contact with those who control the situation on the ground because, as I mentioned, we have facilities and personnel there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said..
Peskov declined to provide details on the number of Russian troops in Syria or the status of possible evacuations.