Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad released a statement that detailed his final movement in Syria before fleeing to Russia. Assad and his family left the country after al-Qaeda-affiliated forces overran Damascus. 

“I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, 8th December 2024. As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations.” The statement continues, “Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen.”

Assad said the Russian base he was at came under attack, forcing him to flee the country. “As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes,” it said. “With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December.”

The Syria War, beginning in 2011, has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrians as regional and global powers entered the conflict to achieve their own interests. Since the fall of the Islamic State’s caliphate in 2019, the battlelines in Syria froze with Assad in control of major cities, the al-Qaeda affiliated forces under Turkish protection in the north, and the Kurdish forces under American protection in the East.   

Additionally, Assad’s forces remained subject to frequent aerial Israeli and US bombardment. Washington placed a strict sanctions regime on Damascus as well, aimed at preventing the rebuilding of the war-torn nation and destroying the country’s economy. 

Assad’s government, weakened by external forces and corruption, was unable to withstand an offensive launched by the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), aided by Turkey and Ukraine. It appears that Assad’s army was largely unwilling to fight and fled in the face of the terrorist forces. HTS was able to conquer many of Syria’s largest cities in less than two weeks. 

In the statement, the deposed Syrian leader said that part of the reason his forces crumbled so quickly was false information he fled Damcause prior to his evacuation. “As terrorism spread across Syria and ultimately reached Damascus on the evening of Saturday, 7th December 2024, questions arose about the president’s fate and whereabouts.” He added, “This occurred amidst a flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria.”