Assad says he didn't intend to leave Syria, statement claims

(Our proxy terrorists in Syria, al Qaeda (HTS) and  al-Jolania have issued a fake statement purportedly from Bashar al Assad saying he is fine and dandy in Russia and he left on his own volition. They would not do such a thing if Assad were alive to contradict it and of course, Assad would not release such a statement to them to release. That's laughably fake. This proves, once and for all, Bashar al Assad and his family were murdered by traitors in Syria and by our Special Operations terrorists who now occupy his office. Their releasing such a laughable statement supposedly from Assad just goes to show how worried they are that the world will come to know what gruesome end they committed on Assad and his family.)

(his purported statement on Telegram)

from BBC

Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad says he never intended to flee to Russia - in what is purported to be his first statement since the fall of Damascus eight days ago.

Assad's reported statement was put on the Telegram channel belonging to the Syrian presidency on Monday, although it is not clear who currently controls it - or whether he wrote it.

In it he says that, as the Syrian capital fell to rebels, he went to a Russian military base in Latakia province "to oversee combat operations" only to see that Syrian troops had abandoned positions.

Hmeimim airbase had also come under "intensified attack by drone strikes" and the Russians had decided to airlift him to Moscow, he says.

In the statement - published both in Arabic and English - the former Syrian leader reportedly describes what happened on 8 December - and how he was apparently besieged at the Russian base...

 

Assad was nowhere to be seen as Syrian cities and provinces fell to rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) within a period of 12 days.

However, speculation mounted that he had fled the country as even his prime minister was not able to contact him during the rebel sweep into Damascus.

On 9 December, Russian media announced that he had been given asylum there - even though there has not been any official confirmation.

The Syrian rebel groups are continuing to form a transitional government.

HTS, Syria's most powerful rebel group, was set up under a different name, Jabhat al-Nusra, in 2011 and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda the following year.

Al-Nusra broke ties with al-Qaeda in 2016 and later took the name HTS when it merged with other factions. However, the UN, US, UK and a number of other countries continue to designate it as a terrorist group...

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