Bashar al-Assad reportedly shared little about his plan to leave Syria before opposition forces entered Damascus, according to British news agency Reuters.
On December 7, just hours before departing for Moscow, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held a meeting with about 30 military and security commanders at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Damascus. He reassured them that Russian military support was on its way and urged the army to hold the line.
Assad told the manager of the presidential office that he would return home after completing his work but instead headed straight to the airport, Reuters reported on December 13, citing more than ten sources familiar with the matter.
The president also called his media adviser, Buthaina Shaaban, asking her to come to his home to draft a speech. However, no one was there when she arrived. Assad also did not inform his brother Maher, commander of the elite 4th Armored Division, about his plan to leave the country, according to three of Assad’s advisers. Maher later fled to Iraq by helicopter before continuing to Russia, one adviser said.
Assad left Damascus by plane on December 8 with the transponder turned off to avoid detection as opposition forces advanced into the capital. He flew to Russia's Hmeymim airbase in the coastal city of Latakia and then traveled to Moscow, effectively ending more than half a century of Assad family rule in Syria.
His wife and three children were already waiting in Moscow, according to three former close aides and a senior regional official.
Images shared by civilians and opposition forces of Assad's residence showed he left in haste, abandoning personal belongings like family photo albums and cooked food on the stove.
Reuters sources revealed that, in the days leading up to his departure, Assad sought support from various parties to maintain his power and protect himself.
Assad visited Moscow on November 28, a day after anti-government forces attacked the northern province of Aleppo, to request Russian military intervention. However, the Kremlin did not comply, according to three diplomats.
Hadi al-Bahra, leader of Syria’s main opposition abroad, citing sources close to Assad and a regional official, said Assad did not communicate the reality of the situation to his advisers back home.
"He told his commanders and associates after his Moscow visit that military support was on its way, even though Moscow’s message was the opposite," al-Bahra said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on December 11 that Russia had made significant efforts in the past to stabilize Syria but that its current priority is the conflict in Ukraine.
Four days after his Moscow visit, Assad met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Damascus. By then, anti-government forces had taken control of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, and were advancing southward as government forces rapidly disbanded.
A senior Iranian official noted that Assad appeared very anxious during the meeting and admitted that the Syrian army was too weak to resist the opposition. However, Assad did not request Iran to deploy troops to Syria, as he understood this could provoke Israeli strikes against Iranian forces in Syria or even on Iranian soil.
Having exhausted all options, Assad ultimately accepted that his government’s collapse was inevitable and planned his departure.
Three members of Assad’s close circle revealed that he initially intended to seek asylum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but was rejected due to fears of international backlash for accepting an individual under U.S. and European sanctions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spearheaded efforts to ensure Assad's safe departure. Lavrov sought assistance from Turkey and Qatar, leveraging their connections with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leading anti-government armed group, to facilitate Assad's journey to Russia, according to two regional officials.
A Western security source said Lavrov did "everything possible" to ensure Assad’s safe escape.
Three Reuters sources confirmed that Turkey and Qatar reached an agreement with HTS to allow Assad’s departure. However, officials from both countries stated in official remarks that they had no direct contact with the armed group. Russia also coordinated with neighboring countries to ensure Assad's plane could exit Syrian airspace without being intercepted, sources added.
HTS and Qatar declined to comment. A Turkish official stated they had received no request from Russia to use Turkish airspace for Assad's flight but did not confirm whether Ankara cooperated with HTS to assist Assad’s departure.
Mohammed Jalali, Assad's last prime minister, said he called his superior at 9:30 p.m. on December 7.
"In our final conversation, I told him how dire the situation was, with many people evacuating from Homs to Latakia. The streets were filled with panic and terror," Jalali recounted in an interview this week.
(Source: Reuters)
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