Bashar al-Assad denies planning exit from Syria

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Syria’s deposed president Bashar al-Assad has denied that his exit from the nation was pre-arranged, saying that he stayed till he was trapped on a army base that was underneath assault.

In his first assertion since a insurgent offensive started taking territory nearly three weeks in the past, Assad mentioned he stayed in Damascus till the early hours of Sunday December 8, when he moved to the Russian base at Hmeimim on the Mediterranean coast.

The previous chief mentioned that as drone assaults have been launched in opposition to the bottom and as leaving by land grew to become not possible, Moscow put in a request to the bottom’s command for a direct evacuation to Russia.

“My departure was neither deliberate nor did it happen throughout the last hours of the battle,” he mentioned. “At no level throughout these occasions did I think about stepping down or looking for refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any particular person or social gathering.” 

The assertion was printed by the previous Syrian presidency’s official Telegram channel and Fb web page, which it mentioned was the “solely viable possibility” after makes an attempt to publish by means of Arab and worldwide media shops have been unsuccessful. It was additionally carried by the Russian state newswire Tass.

Assad was overthrown on December 8 by insurgent forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of a former al-Qaeda affiliate that swept by means of Syria in a lightning offensive to finish the Assad household’s half-century of rule, which was characterised by brutal repression and corruption.

Because the rebels superior in the direction of the capital on December 7, Syrians around the globe tuned in to state tv after widespread rumours that Assad would make a speech.

As a substitute a military commander gave a brief assertion, warning Syrians to not consider what he claimed was a media marketing campaign to sow strife.

After Assad failed to seem that night time, 1000’s of his supporters left Damascus, believing their chief had deserted them, in line with individuals who left and pictures shared on social media.

Assad mentioned that when he arrived on the base the next day, “it grew to become clear that our forces had fully withdrawn from all battle strains and that the final military positions had fallen”.

Loyalist anger with Assad has solely mounted since, within the absence of any public assertion. Assad’s resignation and departure to Russia have been introduced by Moscow’s overseas ministry on Sunday. It mentioned Russia was “not a celebration in these negotiations”.

Assad mentioned the delay within the launch of his assertion was as a result of “prevailing circumstances on the time, together with a complete communication blackout for safety causes”. He promised a extra detailed account of the occasions “when the chance permits”.

“I’ve by no means sought positions for private acquire however have all the time thought of myself as a custodian of a nationwide undertaking,” he mentioned, including that his departure “doesn’t, in any manner, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her folks”.