Bashar al-Assad denounces the capture of Damascus by “terrorists” – Libération

Unsurprisingly, Bashar al-Assad denies any hasty flight from his country. In a press release published this Monday, December 16, the former president of the Syrian Republic returned to his departure from Damascus and the fall of his regime after the capture of the capital by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group. “My departure from Syria was not planned nor did it take place during the final hours of the battle, contrary to some allegations,” declared Bashar al-Assad in this statement published on the Telegram channel of “the presidency”. “Moscow demanded […] an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday, December 8,” added Bashar al-Assad, asserting that Syria was now “in the hands of terrorists”

Several senior Syrian officials announced that Bashar al-Assad had fled without warning members of his family or his closest collaborators on the night of December 7 to 8.

“On the contrary, Assad defends himself. I remained in Damascus to fulfill my duty until the late hours of Sunday, December 8. As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I left for Latakia [dans le nord-ouest de la Syrie, ndlr] in agreement with our Russian allies in order to continue to direct military operations.

Then, Bashar al-Assad finally asserts that the Russian base of Hmeimim, located on the Mediterranean coast in which he had taken refuge, was finally attacked by drones “while the situation on the ground continued to deteriorate”. Before adding: “With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow demanded (…) an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday, December 8.”