Assad Claims Reluctant Evacuation to Russia Following Fall of Damascus

Ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has claimed he did not plan to leave Syria and only departed after Russia evacuated him, according to a statement attributed to him on his Telegram account Monday. Assad, 59, stated he remained in Damascus until the early hours of Dec. 8, the day rebel forces entered the capital.

In the statement, Assad said that as rebel forces swept through Damascus, he moved north to Lattakia in coordination with Russian allies to oversee combat operations. At the nearby Hmeimim air base, he claimed it became evident that Syrian forces had completely withdrawn from battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen. With the base under intensified drone strikes, Moscow requested an immediate evacuation to Russia that evening, he added.

"This took place a day after the fall of Damascus," Assad stated, maintaining that he had not considered stepping down or seeking refuge prior to these events. NBC News was unable to independently verify his account.

Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, suggested Assad aimed to project an image of resistance rather than an intentional escape. “It was a sort of sudden escape given the ‘terrorist offensive,’ as he calls it, branding the opposition — any opposition — as terrorist factions enforced by external influences,” Ozcelik explained.

The fall of Assad’s regime, led by rebel forces under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been met with celebrations across Syria. Thousands of prisoners from Assad’s notorious prisons were released, and mass demonstrations marked the end of 50 years of Assad family rule.

Despite this, Assad’s influence persists as he communicates with loyalists from Russia, Ozcelik noted. HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, a former Al Qaeda fighter, has sought to portray a more moderate image, promising to rebuild a Syria inclusive of all religious and ethnic groups. However, HTS remains a globally designated terrorist group, with the U.S. maintaining a $10 million bounty on Jolani, though the Biden administration is reportedly reconsidering the designation.

President Joe Biden joined other world leaders in welcoming Assad’s fall but urged caution. "This is a moment of risk and uncertainty as we all turn to the question of what comes next," Biden stated.