The ousted Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, stated that he had no plans to leave Syria after the fall of Damascus a week ago, but that Russian forces evacuated him after their base in western Syria was attacked.
These are Assad’s first comments since his ousting by rebel groups last week, according to an AP report. In a statement on his Facebook page, Assad explained that he left Damascus on the morning of December 8, a few hours after insurgents attacked the capital. He added that his departure was coordinated with his Russian allies at their base in the coastal Latakia province, where he had planned to continue fighting.
However, Assad said that after the Russian base was struck by drones, the Russians decided to transfer him to Russia on the night of December 8.
“I did not leave the country as part of a pre-planned scheme as was earlier reported,” Assad wrote.
