Bashar al-Assad has recently addressed rumors surrounding his departure from Syria, rejecting the notion that his exit was planned.
He explained that Moscow requested his evacuation as rebel forces, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahir al-Sham, advanced toward Damascus.
Russian intelligence reportedly facilitated his escape, and Assad was flown out via a Russian airbase.
While some media speculated on his whereabouts, Assad has been in Russia, with official Russian sources confirming his asylum was granted on humanitarian grounds
Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.
The comments are the first by Assad since he was overthrown by insurgent groups.
Assad said in a statement on his Facebook page that he left Damascus on the morning of Dec. 8, hours after insurgents stormed the capital. He said he left in coordination with Russian allies to the Russian base in the coastal province of Latakia, where he planned to keep fighting.
Assad said that after the Russian base came under attack by drones, the Russians decided to move him on the night of Dec. 8 to Russia. “I did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier,” Assad said.
Meanwhile, a U.K.-based war monitor said Israeli airstrikes early Monday hit missile warehouses in Syria and called it the “most violent strikes” since 2012.
Israel has been pounding what it says are military sites in Syria after the dramatic collapse of Assad’s rule, wiping out air defences and most of the arsenal of the former Syrian army.
Israeli troops have also seized a border buffer zone, sparking condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating the 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria for a land grab.
