Bashar al-Assad issues his first statement since fleeing Syria Syrian war news

The statements attributed to Assad, which were published by the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel, say that the country has fallen into “the hands of terrorism.”

In the first public statements attributed to Bashar al-Assad since then He left SyriaThe ousted Syrian president defended his rule and denied planning his departure as armed opposition fighters approached Damascus earlier this month.

A statement said to have been written by Assad and posted on the Syrian Presidency’s Telegram channel on Monday provided a description of how and why the former president fled Syria.

The statement said: “First, my exit from Syria was not planned and did not happen during the last hours of the battles as some claimed.”

“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 the opposition fighters, whom Assad described as “terrorist forces,” entered the capital, he moved to a Russian base in the coastal city of Latakia “to supervise combat operations.”

But according to the statement, the base was subjected to drone attacks from armed opposition fighters.

“With no effective way to leave the base, Moscow asked the base leadership to arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday, December 8,” the statement read.

“This occurred the day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions.”

The statement has not been independently verified. Al-Assad has not made any media appearances since Russia granted him and his family asylum.

Opposition forces, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, launched a lightning attack from northwestern Idlib province in November, seizing city after city from government forces with little resistance.

they I arrived in Damascus In the early hours of December 8, he announced the end of more than 50 years of the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule over Syria.

Assad’s presidency, which began after the death of his father Hafez in 2000, witnessed one of the most devastating wars of the 21st century.

The conflict began in 2011 when Syrians took to the streets to protest the government as part of the “Arab Spring” pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East that year.

As the demonstrations faced deadly repression by security forces, the protest movement turned into an armed uprising.

The war, which lasted more than 13 years, fragmented the country, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Human rights groups accused Assad’s authoritarian government of committing widespread human rights violations.

Opposition fighters and human rights defenders said Find out More horrific abuses, traces of torture and mass executions as they release prisons housing thousands of detainees across Syria this month.

There are still tens of thousands of Syrians believed to be in government custody Missing.

But in a statement on Monday attributed to “President Bashar al-Assad,” the former president seemed unapologetic for his years in power, saying he considered himself the “guardian” of a national project supported by Syrians.

The statement said: “I have a firm belief in their will and ability to protect the state, defend its institutions, and adhere to their choices until the last minute.”

“When a state falls into the hands of terrorism and loses the ability to make a meaningful contribution, any position becomes devoid of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless.”