The ousted Syrian president Basher Al-Assad said he didn’t prefer to flee the country when Hayat Al-Tahrir Sham (HTS) was closing in Damascus, reports said.
According to a statement reportedly given by “President Basher” and broadcasted on the Syrian presidency social media channel on Monday, the country “fell into the hands of terrorism” following the HTS takeover of Syria.
“First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” the statement read.
“On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024.” The statement added that as rebel fighters, whom al-Assad described as “terrorist forces," entered the capital, he moved to a Russian base on the coastal city of Latakia to “oversee combat operations.”
With no possible means to exit the base, Moscow ordered that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday, 8 December,” the statement read.
The ousted president remains unapologetic about his years in power, saying he considered himself the rightful “custodian” of a national project backed by the Syrian people.
He said, “I have marinated a wilful and unwavering conviction in their will and capability to protect the interests of the state. However, the same state has fallen into the hands of terrorism.”
Syrian rebels, primarily HTS, launched a strong offensive from the north-western province of Idlib, which remained one of the most important and last remaining Bastian of the guerrilla factions backed by Turkiye and the West last month.
Within 13 days from the day the renewed clashes broke out, opposition forces stormed through Damascus, subsequently ending the 50-year-old dynastic rule of the Assad family in Syria.
He became president of Syria in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez Al Assad. His rule was marred by the constant conspiracies by the West, particularly the US, which continuously sought ways to replace him.
In 2007, the US launched a covert operation in the country known as “Operation Timber Sycamore” to dethrone Assad from power.
While the regime survived, the country was devastated in what many call the most gruesome conflict of the 21st century, which started in the footsteps of the popular Arab Spring.
Rights groups have accused al-Assad’s authoritarian government of perpetrating rampant human rights violations.
Opposition fighters and rights advocates claim to discover more horrific abuses and signs of torture and mass executions as they freed jails housing thousands of detainees across Syria this month, according to Al Jazeera.
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