Russia says Assad has left office and fled Syria, but whereabouts remain unknown

One report indicates ousted dictator was killed in plane crash, another hints he departed Russian base on aircraft; Syrian civilians loot his home in Damascus

By Agencies and ToI Staff 8 December 2024, 3:01 pm Edit
A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the city of Qamishli, as Syrian Kurds celebrate the fall of capital Damascus to anti-government fighters on December 8, 2024. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the city of Qamishli, as Syrian Kurds celebrate the fall of capital Damascus to anti-government fighters on December 8, 2024. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

The Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had left office and departed the country after giving orders there be a peaceful handover of power.

In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia has not taken part in the talks around his departure. Earlier reports suggested that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash as he attempted to flee the country.

The Kan public broadcaster reported that shortly before the Russian statement was released, a transport plane lifted off from the Russian base in the Syrian city of Latakia, hinting at Assad’s potential presence on the aircraft.

“As a result of negotiations between [Bashar] Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power,” the Russia statement said.

“Russia did not participate in these negotiations.”

Assad’s Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali was seen in footage escorted by rebel fighters to a meeting with their leaders to coordinate the transition. He later said in a statement he had been in contact with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani to discuss managing the transitional period.

Moscow was extremely worried by events in Syria and urged all sides to refrain from violence, it said.

“We urge all parties involved to refrain from the use of violence and to resolve all issues of governance through political means,” the statement said. “In that regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition.”

It said Russia’s military bases in Syria had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time.

Assad’s fate unknown

A Syrian airplane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by Syria’s rebels overnight, according to data from the Flightradar website earlier, suggesting Assad may have been onboard.

The aircraft initially flew toward Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.

Reuters was not able to ascertain who was on board.

Two Syrian sources said there is a very high probability that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash as it was a mystery why the plane took a surprise U-turn and disappeared off the map.

A senior diplomat from the United Arab Emirates, which had sought to rehabilitate Assad’s image and has welcomed high-profile exiles in recent years, declined to comment on his whereabouts when asked by reporters at a conference in Bahrain.

Anwar Gargash said Assad’s destination at this point is a “footnote in history,” comparing it to the long exile of German Kaiser Wilhelm II after World War I.

Assad has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war, including a 2013 chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of the capital.

There was no immediate comment from Iran, which had been Assad’s staunchest supporter.

Opposition forces had not reached Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a yearslong siege.

In the wake of Assad’s presumed departure, dozens of Syrians explored the fallen dictator’s luxurious Damascus home after it was looted on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said.

Women, children and men could be seen inspecting the six-story home and its large garden, with the entrance to the residence burnt down and the rooms completely empty, save some furniture and a portrait of Assad thrown on the floor.

The end of Assad’s rule deals a major blow to Iran and its allies, already weakened by over a year of conflict with Israel. The rebels now face the daunting task of healing bitter divides in a country ravaged by war and still split among different armed factions. Turkey-backed opposition fighters are battling US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group is still active in some remote areas.

Syrian state television aired a video statement early Sunday by a group of rebels saying that Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been set free. The man who read the statement called on rebel fighters and citizens to preserve the institutions of “the free Syrian state.”

Many of the capital’s residents were in disbelief at the speed at which Assad lost his hold on the country after a grinding civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced half the country’s prewar population of 23 million, and drew in several foreign powers.

The rebel advances since November 27 were the largest in recent years and saw the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Homs fall in a matter of days as the Syrian army melted away. Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, which provided crucial support to Assad throughout the uprising, abandoned him in the final days as they reeled from other conflicts.

The rebels are led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, which has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations.

Its leader, al-Golani, has sought to remake the group’s image and says he is committed to a Syria that will serve all its citizens, including sizable religious and ethnic minorities. HTS set up a “salvation government” in 2017 to administer a large region in northwestern Syria under its control.

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