Remarks attributed to al-Assad, launched by the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel, say state fell into ‘fingers of terrorism’.
Within the first public remarks attributed to Bashar al-Assad since he left Syria, the deposed Syrian president has defended his rule and denied planning his departure as armed opposition fighters closed in on Damascus earlier this month.
An announcement mentioned to be written by al-Assad and launched on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel on Monday offered an account of how and why the previous president fled Syria.
“First, my departure from Syria was neither deliberate nor did it happen throughout the remaining hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” the assertion mentioned.
“Quite the opposite, I remained in Damascus, finishing up my duties till the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024.”
The assertion added that as insurgent fighters, who al-Assad described as “terrorist forces”, entered the capital, he moved to a Russian base on the coastal metropolis of Latakia to “oversee fight operations”.
However in accordance with the assertion, the bottom got here beneath drone assaults from armed opposition fighters.
“With no viable technique of leaving the bottom, Moscow requested that the bottom’s command organize an instantaneous evacuation to Russia on the night of Sunday 8 December,” it learn.
“This occurred a day after the autumn of Damascus, following the collapse of the ultimate army positions and the ensuing paralysis of all remaining state establishments.”
The assertion has not been independently verified. Al-Assad has not made any media appearances since he was granted asylum along with his household by Russia.
Opposition forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a lightning offensive from the northwestern province of Idlib in November, taking metropolis after metropolis from authorities forces with little resistance.
They reached Damascus within the early hours of December 8 and introduced the tip of greater than 50 years of the al-Assad household’s iron-fist rule over Syria.
Al-Assad’s presidency, which started after the loss of life of his father Hafez in 2000, noticed one of the vital devastating wars of the twenty first century.
The battle began in 2011 as Syrians took to the streets to protest in opposition to the federal government as a part of the “Arab Spring” pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Center East that yr.
Because the demonstrations have been met with a lethal crackdown by safety forces, the protest motion became an armed rebellion.
The battle, which lasted greater than 13 years, fragmented the nation, killed a whole lot of 1000’s of individuals and displaced tens of millions.
Rights teams have accused al-Assad’s authoritarian authorities of perpetrating rampant human rights violations.
Opposition fighters and rights advocates have mentioned they found extra horrific abuses and indicators of torture and mass executions as they freed jails housing 1000’s of detainees throughout Syria this month.
Tens of 1000’s of Syrians believed to have been in authorities custody stay unaccounted for.
However in Monday’s assertion, attributed to “President Bashar al-Assad”, the previous president sounded unapologetic about his years in energy, saying he thought-about himself the “custodian” of a nationwide mission backed by Syrians.
“I’ve carried an unwavering conviction of their will and talent to guard the state, defend its establishments, and uphold their selections to the final second,” the assertion mentioned.
“When the state falls into the fingers of terrorism and the flexibility to make a significant contribution is misplaced, any place turns into void of function, rendering its occupation meaningless.”
