Bashar al-Assad releases first statement since he fled Syria 

In the first public remarks attributed to Bashar al-Assad since he left Syria, the deposed Syrian president has defended his rule and denied planning his departure as armed opposition fighters closed in on Damascus earlier this month.

A statement said to be written by al-Assad and released on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel on Monday presented an account of how and why the former president fled Syria.

“First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” the statement said.

“On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024.”

The statement added that as rebel fighters, who al-Assad described as “terrorist forces”, entered the capital, he moved to a Russian base on the coastal city of Latakia to “oversee combat operations”.

But according to the statement, the base came under drone attacks from armed opposition fighters.

“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 8 December,” it read.

“This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions.”

The statement has not been independently verified. Al-Assad has not made any media appearances since he was granted asylum with his family by Russia.

Opposition forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a lightning offensive from the northwestern province of Idlib in November, taking city after city from government forces with little resistance.

They reached Damascus in the early hours of December 8 and announced the end of more than 50 years of the al-Assad family’s iron-fist rule over Syria.

Al-Assad’s presidency, which began after the death of his father Hafez in 2000, saw one of the most devastating wars of the 21st century.

The conflict started in 2011 as Syrians took to the streets to protest against the government as part of the “Arab Spring” pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East that year.

As the demonstrations were met with a deadly crackdown by security forces, the protest movement turned into an armed uprising.

The war, which lasted more than 13 years, fragmented the country, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Rights groups have accused al-Assad’s authoritarian government of perpetrating rampant human rights violations.

Opposition fighters and rights advocates have said they discovered more horrific abuses and signs of torture and mass executions as they freed jails housing thousands of detainees across Syria this month.

Tens of thousands of Syrians believed to have been in government custody remain unaccounted for.

But in Monday’s statement, attributed to “President Bashar al-Assad”, the former president sounded unapologetic about his years in power, saying he considered himself the “custodian” of a national project backed by Syrians.

“I have carried an unwavering conviction in their will and ability to protect the state, defend its institutions, and uphold their choices to the very last moment,” the statement said.

“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, rendering its occupation meaningless.”