Moscow/Damascus:
Syria’s deposed President Bashir al-Assad has given a statement for the first time after 8 days of fleeing the country. Assad claimed in his statement issued from Russia on Monday that he never intended to leave Syria. But the country is now in the hands of terrorists. “At no time did I think about abdicating or seeking refuge in another country,” Assad said. “My plan was to keep fighting, but after their base in western Syria was attacked, the Russians evacuated me.” .” He described leaving Damascus as a necessary strategic measure, as the capital had been captured by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allied groups.
Bashir al-Assad said in a statement on his Facebook page, “I left Damascus on the morning of December 8. It was the day rebels attacked the capital, Damascus. My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it come in the final hours of the fighting.” Some people are claiming this, but there is no truth in these claims and I continued to perform my duties till the morning of 8 December 2024.
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Left for Latakia after infiltration in Damascus
Assad adds, “When terrorist forces infiltrated into Damascus, I coordinated with my Russian colleagues and went to Latakia to oversee combat operations. Upon arriving at Hmeimim Air Base that morning, it became clear that our The armies had completely withdrawn from all the battle lines. The last positions of the army had also fallen.”
Drone attacks were also happening on Russian military base
The former Syrian president said, “After the Russian base was attacked with drones, the Russians decided to take me to Russia on the night of December 8. As the situation in the region deteriorated, the Russian military base Due to drone attacks, intense attacks started taking place. “With no means of egress from the base, Moscow requested that the base command arrange for an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8 December.”
Didn’t think about abdicating or taking refuge
In his first address since fleeing Syria, Bashar al-Assad said, “I have never thought of abdicating or taking refuge. My only solution is to continue the fight against the terrorist attack. The man who once fought against Palestine And having not abandoned the resistance in Lebanon, nor betrayed his allies who stood by him, he cannot possibly be the same man who abandons his people or betrays the army and nation to which he belongs.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on 8 December that Bashar al-Assad had stepped down after ordering a peaceful transfer of power. Soon after, Russian news agency TASS quoted Kremlin sources as saying that former President Assad and his family have been granted asylum in the Russian capital Moscow. This was a personal decision of Vladimir Putin.
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Where did the Assad government go wrong?
Human rights violations: The civil war in Syria started with the Arab Spring in 2011. The Assad government has been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including the killing of civilians, torture in prison, and other human rights violations. The Assad government ignored these allegations.
Civil War: Civil war has been going on in Syria since 2011, in which many rebel groups are fighting against the Assad government. The Assad government could not take effective steps to end this civil war.
Tension with the international community: The Assad government has tense relations with many countries, including the US, the European Union, and several Arab countries.
Corruption allegations: The Assad government has also been accused of several other allegations, including corruption, abuse of power, and other irregularities.
How did the coup happen in Syria?
-Civil war is going on in Syria since 2011. After Assad took power, the number of opponents increased.
-On November 27, conflict began between the Syrian army and rebels.
– On December 1, the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham i.e. HTS captured Aleppo, its largest city.
– On December 5, HTS captured the city of Hama in Syria.
– Daraa was captured on 6 December and Homs city on 7 December.
-On December 8, rebel groups started moving towards the capital Damascus. During this time, Assad left the country with his family.
-On the same day, rebels entered Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament House. Looted a lot. They looted the goods there and took it to their home.
-Rebels in Syria celebrated with guns on the streets. Rebel women also celebrated on the streets.
-After the coup, thousands of people were seen fleeing the country. Long queues of vehicles were seen.
-During this period, rebels also attacked the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.
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How did Assad and family escape from Syria?
-According to Aljazeera’s report, the Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus at around 4 am on Sunday morning local time. Asad and his family members were in it.
-This plane first moved towards the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect. Meanwhile, the plane took a U-turn and started moving towards Hamz.
-It disappeared from radar around 4:40 minutes. Then speculations started about the plane crashing.
-Iran’s media even said that Israel shot down this plane, but there was no evidence of the plane crashing.
-It was also said that the plane’s transponder was turned off, so that it could not be known where it was going. It was told that the plane had landed briefly in the coastal city of Latakia, where Russia also has an army base.
-After this it is said that the Russian Air Force plane flew from Latakia to Moscow. Boarding this plane, Assad reached Moscow with his family. Then after some time, Russia confirmed that Putin has given shelter to Assad and his family.
Why is Türkiye so happy with the end of the Assad government in Syria?
Who will run the government now?
According to Arab media reports, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Mohammed al-Bashir will be the head of Syria’s interim government. Earlier, he had led the HTS government in Idlib state of Syria. Bashar al-Assad belongs to the Alawite community. This community is a minority in Syria. The population of Alawite community in Syria is only 12%, but the power was with this Alawite dynasty.
