Assad defends escape from Syria, blames ‘terrorist onslaught’ in first statement

Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad defended his decision to flee to Moscow amid a rapid rebel advance a little over a week ago, claiming he had intended to stay in his country to fight a “terrorist onslaught,” according to a statement issued Monday on his Telegram account.

The statement, the first post to Telegram under Assad’s name since his Dec. 8 ouster, said he left Syria for Russia from the country’s Hmeimim air base after it came under a drone attack that same day. Assad had left Damascus earlier amid the withdrawal of government forces, the statement said, adding that at no point did he “consider stepping down or seeking refuge.”

The Washington Post could not immediately verify the claims, which were also reported by Russian state media. The Telegram post appears to be Assad’s first public statement since his ouster from power when a rebel coalition led by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham toppled his regime.

The statement, published in Arabic and English, defended Assad’s record at the helm of the government throughout Syria’s bloody civil war and said the country has “fallen into the hands of terrorism.”

Source » washingtonpost.com