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December 16, 2024 | 10:26 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In his first public statement since being ousted from power, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied on Monday, December 16, 2024, that his departure from Syria was planned.
“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” said a statement from al-Assad on the ousted presidency’s Telegram channel, as reported by Al Arabiya.
Assad explained that he was evacuated from Syria at the request of the Russian government. “Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia in the evening,” he stated, following his relocation to Latakia earlier that morning.
“When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose,” the statement added.
Assad, who led Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, accepted Russia's offer of asylum on December 8, following the successful offensive by opposition forces that resulted in the fall of the Syrian government.
The swift and decisive takeover by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which occurred within less than two weeks, caught many by surprise. Following the collapse of the Assad regime, most Syrian government officials, including secret service members and prison guards, went into hiding.
Many attempted to flee to neighboring countries or seek refuge in Western Europe to avoid potential prosecution.
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