The lightning offensive carried out by rebel forces has caused panic within the Syrian regime. Deposed President Bashar al-Assad hastily left the country on December 8, taking refuge in Russia in the company of a few relatives, including Mansour Azzam, his secretary general of Presidential Affairs, and Yassar Ibrahim, his economic advisor, who manages the empire financier of Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma.
The other key man in the regime, Maher al-Assad, who led the armored division responsible for protecting Damascus, was not warned by his older brother of his flight to Russia. Leaving his men stranded, he went by helicopter to Iraq, from where he reached Russia, according to a Syrian military source, while his wife and son passed through Lebanon. Ali Mamlouk, the former strongman of the security apparatus, would also have reached Russia via Iraq.
Maher al-Assad and Ali Mamlouk are the subject of international warrants for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes. Lebanese justice received a communication from Interpol on Friday, relaying a request from the American authorities to arrest Jamil al-Hassan, former head of intelligence of the Air Force, if he entered Lebanon, and to hand him over to the American authorities.
The American request highlights that he is accused of “war crimes”, in particular “of having launched thousands of tons of barrel bombs on the Syrian people”, killing “thousands of innocent civilians”.
Other prominent figures fled at the last minute. In particular, Bouthaïna Chaabane, Assad's main political advisor, who went to Lebanon then reached Abu Dhabi via Beirut airport, according to one of her friends in Beirut. Officials are said to have taken refuge in their towns and villages in the Alouite regions. The eldest of the siblings Rami Makhlouf, considered the richest man in Syria and the symbol of corruption in this country, is said to be in the Emirates.
Among the other Syrian personalities who entered Lebanese territory, according to a security source and a source in business circles, include Ghassan Belal, director of Maher al-Assad's office, and businessmen Mohammad Hamcho and Khaled Qaddour, close to Maher al-Assad. All took advantage of the advantages afforded to them by their proximity to the regime.
According to a former Lebanese minister, who was close to the Syrian authorities, several senior military officers obtained safe conduct from the Russians to reach the Hmeimim base. According to him, this was their reward for ordering their troops not to fight against the rebels in order to avoid bloodshed.
Hmeimim Air Base
Since 2015, the Russians have had the Hmeimim air base in Syria, which depends on deliveries of weapons and equipment arriving by sea in Tartous, around sixty kilometers further south.
The Russian army does not publish information on its personnel. However, they have been significantly reduced since 2022 to be redirected to the Ukrainian theater of operations.
It is from this base that the Russian air force has carried out devastating bombings against the Syrian rebellion and the country's cities since 2015, an intervention which then made it possible to save the power of Bashar al-Assad. It is also a key crossing point en route to Africa, where Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence.
