‘I didn’t intend to leave’: Former Syrian President Assad issues statement after being toppled by rebels

16 December 2024, 13:14 | Updated: 16 December 2024, 14:16

Former Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has issued his first statement since fleeing to Russia after rebels overthrew his regime.

The former president has broken his silence - issuing a shock statement after fleeing to Moscow, claiming he did not want to leave Syria and instead wanted to continue fighting.

Islamist rebels overthrew Assad's brutal regime just over a week ago, bringing an end to the Assad family's 50 years of iron rule.

The former president said his departure was 'unplanned' and 'did not occur during the final hours of battles', according to his statement.

He said: "On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday 8 December 2024.

The statement also said he fled Damascus for Russia 'a day after the fall' of the city, and added: "At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge."

It added: "The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught."

He claims he did not plan to flee and instead wanted to keep fighting rebel forces, until Russia evacuated him.

He also says there was a "flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria"

The statement continues: "As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Lattakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations.

"Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen.

He claims the Russian base he was taken to came under "intensified attack by drone strikes", and that Moscow requested an evacuation.

The evacuation came after "the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions," he claims.

At the end of the statement Assad criticises the rebels and says he has "hope that Syria will once again be free and independent."

Syrians have been pouring into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire after the stunning rebel advance reached the capital.

President Assad fled Damascus by plane as rebels closed in, setting out for an unknown destination, the Russian foreign ministry and members of the Syrian national army confirmed.

It was later revealed that Assad was granted asylum in Moscow, where he and his family have been staying.

In the hours that followed his ousting, gunfire could be heard as rebels and citizens of the capital celebrated liberation from his brutal regime.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also spoken on the matter, saying he welcomes the fall of Bashar al-Assad's "barbaric regime".

The wave of rebels entering the capital Damascus saw a stream of prisoners released from the city's jails.

Footage also emerged showing looters wandering the corridors of Assad's private residence in the city, with images showing the sprawling home in disarray.

Read more: Lammy pledges £50m in aid for Syrians after fall of Assad regime

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The swiftly moving events have raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region.

Since then, Western governments have debated how to deal with HTS, which is a proscribed organisation in the UK because of its closeness to al Qaida.

Its current leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who had used the alias Mohammed al-Golani before taking power, has attempted to distance his movement from the terrorist group.

There is also concern that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate regional tensions and create conditions for the so-called Islamic State group to regain ground.

Meanwhile, Israel has taken advantage of the situation to double its settlement-building in the occupied Golan Heights, Syrian territory that has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.

On Sunday, Israel launched what appears to be its largest strike on Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, sending a mushroom cloud into the sky that could be seen for miles.