Syria’s ousted leader Assad claims he took refuge at Russian airbase

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Syria’s ousted leader Bashar Assad claimed on Monday that he took refuge at a Russian base during the dramatic fall of the decades-long Baath regime earlier this month.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of the country’s capital Damascus.

The takeover followed a swift two-week offensive by anti-regime fighters, who captured key cities across the country before Damascus.

In a first statement since his ouster, posted on the regime’s social media platforms, Assad argued that his sudden departure from Syria was not planned.

Saying that he moved to Russia’s Khmeimim airbase on the morning of Dec. 8 as anti-regime forces took control of Damascus, Assad claimed that it became clear then that his forces had completely withdrawn from “all battle lines,” and that their last positions had fallen.

He said that the Russian base, in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, came under intensified attack by drone strikes as the conflict raged on.

“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,” he added.

“At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party,” he went on to say, adding that he had planned to keep on fighting.