Bashar al Assad stressed that his departure from Syria “was not planned” but that he stayed in Damascus until December 8
Text: RFI/AFP
Ousted President Bashar al-Assad denied on Monday, in his first statements since fleeing Syria, that he had planned his departure and called the country’s new leaders “terrorists.”
Assad left for Russia a little over a week ago, when a lightning offensive led by the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) took Damascus, capping an eleven-day offensive.
The collapse of the regime shocked the world and sparked celebrations in Syria and in numerous countries with vast communities of Syrians who have been exiled since the start of the civil war, which was unleashed after the bloody repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011.
“My departure from Syria was not planned, nor did it take place during the last hours of the battle, contrary to certain claims,” Al Assad declared in a statement in English broadcast on Telegram.
“On the contrary, I stayed in Damascus, doing my duty until dawn” on Sunday, December 8, he stated.
Al Assad explained that given the advance of the insurgents towards the capital, he moved to Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast, “in coordination” with Russia, one of his allies in the conflict, to “supervise combat operations.”
The moon rises over the Syrian city of Jobar, in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus, on December 15, 2024. © Bakr ALKASEM / AFP
“Moscow requested (…) an immediate evacuation to Russia on Sunday night, December 8,” Al Assad said after stating that his country was now “in the hands of terrorists.”
The HTS group, the former Syrian arm of Al Qaeda, maintains that it broke with jihadism but continues to be classified as “terrorist” by several Western capitals, including Washington and London.
“Credible and inclusive” transition in Syria
After initial caution, Western foreign ministries intensified efforts over the weekend to establish contact with the new Syrian leaders, including Abu Mohamed al Jolani, head of the HTS group.
“We cannot leave a vacuum,” said the head of European Union diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, before a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
He also assured that the EU will address with the new authorities the military presence and influence of Russia in its territory.
In this sense, several European ministers said that “it should be a condition for the new leaders to eliminate the influence of Russia,” Kallas added.
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The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, met on Sunday in Damascus with Jolani, to whom he reaffirmed the need for a “credible and inclusive” transition, his services indicated.
The United Kingdom and the United States also established “diplomatic contact” with HTS, which claims to have severed its links with jihadism.
Türkiye, an important actor in the conflict and supporter of the new Syrian authorities, reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, expressing its willingness to provide military aid.
“We need peace”
Several countries and organizations celebrated the fall of Assad, but said they were waiting to see how the new authorities, the Sunni Muslims, would treat ethnic and religious minorities.
After 50 years of rule by the Al Assad clan and relentless repression against the opposition, the new authorities are trying to reassure the international community.
The new prime minister in charge of the transition until March 1, Mohamad al Bashir, promised to “guarantee the rights of all.”
In Latakia, Syria’s second-largest port on the Mediterranean, hundreds of men and some women members of the former government forces stood in a long line Monday outside the offices where the new authorities asked them to lay down their weapons and register.
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According to the person in charge of the place, Mohamad Mustapha, 26, a former soldier in the rebel stronghold of Idlib, 400 people showed up on Sunday for the center’s opening.
“We expect at least a thousand today,” he said and estimated that “at least 10,000 former soldiers and police officers” should “show up” in this province, a stronghold of the Alawite minority, where the ousted president comes from.
“We need peace, not new fighters,” Mohamad Fayoub, 37, a police officer in Hama (center) for 10 years and a native of Latakia, told AFP, who showed up spontaneously after seeing the notice on social networks.
Almost 14 years of civil war caused by the repression of pro-democracy protests left half a million dead and six million inhabitants who have fled abroad.
Israeli attacks
Israel carried out intense attacks on Sunday against military facilities in the coastal region of Tartus, including air defense units and “surface-to-surface missile depots,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, OSDH.
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