Ousted Syrian President Assad finally breaks silence over his escape to Russia, says ‘leaving the country…’

Assad fled to Russia with family.

New Delhi: Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued the first statement after fleeing the country on December 8 after the rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over the capital Damascus, marking the 24-year rule of Bashar al-Assad and over 50-year rule of the Assad family.

Assad, in a statement from Russia, claimed Syria is now “in the hands of terrorism.” He asserted that his “evacuation” from Syria as a necessary measure given the intense attack and swift actions of the resistance forces which captured large swathes of Syria in a matter of days.

Assad’s armed forces were no match for the fiercely determined and fanatically charged rebels said to be backed by Israel, USA, and Turkey.

It turned out to be a huge turning point in the history of Middle East as Israel captured more area of the Golan Heights and launched relentless airstrikes on Syria’s military structure and its weapons and ammunition depots.

The rebel’s offensive that started on November 27 ended in a matter of just 12 days. Opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an assault from their base in the Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria and then rolled on southwards to oust Bashar al-Assad.

On December 7, the rebels closed in and surrounded the capital Damascus while the other part of the group captured most of the southern Syrian region of Deraa, the same place where the first spark of the uprising ignited in 2011.

The armed forces realised that the rebels have the upper hand and the soldiers laid down their arms and uniforms. Many fled on foot from their positions. It was a meek surrender, an organisational collapse, according to Sanad, Al Jazeera’s digital investigation agency.

Assad said that the Russian forces took him out of there and took him to Moscow. He said that he had left the capital a few hours after the rebels entered Damascus on December 8 adding that he had arrived at a Russian base in Latakia after consulting with Russian allies from where he wanted to continue the fighting.