Report reveals last moments of Bashar al-Assad's escape
Date
12/22/2024 6:40:55 AM
(MENAFN) A new report, based on interviews with 12 sources familiar with Bashar al-Assad's escape, has revealed the final moments before the former Syrian president fled to Moscow, where he was granted asylum. The report, published by the Financial Times on Friday, describes how, on the eve of opposition forces taking control of Damascus, Assad boarded a Russian military armored vehicle with his son, Hafez, leaving behind frantic relatives and friends searching for him. According to sources, on the night of December 7, 2023, just before midnight, Assad’s loyalists found abandoned guard posts and empty buildings around his house in the Maliki neighborhood, with discarded military uniforms scattered on the streets. By midnight, Assad and his son were already en route to Russia’s Hmeimim base in Latakia, Syria, on the Mediterranean coast. He had not ordered the army’s surrender, and only after leaving Damascus did he instruct his forces to destroy sensitive documents and offices.
At Hmeimim, Assad and his son waited until 4 a.m. on December 8 before being allowed to proceed to Moscow. Assad’s daughter, Zain, also joined him, having flown in from the UAE, where she was studying at the Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi. They were reunited with Asma al-Assad, who had been receiving cancer treatment in Moscow with her parents. The report further notes that Assad’s escape was not only about his family but also about securing his wealth. He was accompanied by key financial supporters, including businessman Yasar Ibrahim and former presidential affairs minister Mansour Azzam. Many of Assad’s former allies fled to various countries, including Lebanon, Iraq, the UAE, and European nations, with some taking refuge in the Russian embassy in Damascus.
The report also reveals that Assad did not communicate with those he had pledged to protect, leaving them in confusion and anger. Four days before his departure, Assad expressed desperation, offering to meet with political opposition in Geneva for peace talks. However, it seems Russia was uninterested in his proposal. Sources suggest that Assad’s days of power are over, and he is likely to spend his life in exile, away from any potential trial for his role in Syria’s brutal conflict.
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