Bashar al-Assad denies wanting to go away Syria

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Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied his exit from the nation was deliberate upfront, saying he stayed till he discovered himself trapped in an attacked navy base.

In his first assertion for the reason that insurgent offensive started almost three weeks in the past, Assad mentioned he remained in Damascus till the early hours of Sunday, December 8, when he reached the Russian base in Hmeimim, on the Mediterranean coast.

The previous chief mentioned that as drone assaults have been launched towards the bottom and exit by land turned not possible, Moscow requested the bottom command for instant evacuation to Russia.

“My departure was neither deliberate nor occurred within the closing hours of the battle,” he mentioned. “At no time throughout these occasions did I think about resigning or looking for refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any particular person or occasion. »

The assertion was revealed by the official Telegram channel and Fb web page of the previous Syrian presidency, which it mentioned was the “solely viable possibility” after makes an attempt to publish it in Arab and worldwide media failed. The data was additionally broadcast by the official Russian information company Tass.

Assad was overthrown December 8 by insurgent forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of a former al-Qaeda-affiliated group that has swept by way of Syria in a lightning offensive aimed toward ending half a century of Assad household rule , characterised by brutal repression and corruption.

As rebels superior on the capital on December 7, Syrians world wide watched on state tv after widespread rumors that Assad would give a speech.

As an alternative, a military commander issued a quick assertion, warning Syrians to not consider what he claimed was a media marketing campaign aimed toward sowing discord.

After Assad failed to indicate up that evening, hundreds of his supporters left Damascus, believing their chief had deserted them, in accordance with those that left and pictures shared on social media.

Assad mentioned that when he arrived on the base the subsequent day, “it turned clear that our forces had utterly withdrawn from all battle traces and that the final positions of the military had fallen.”

Loyalist anger towards Assad has solely elevated since then, within the absence of any public assertion. Assad’s resignation and departure for Russia was introduced on Sunday by Moscow’s Overseas Ministry. He mentioned Russia was “not a celebration to those negotiations.”

Assad mentioned the delay in issuing his assertion was because of “circumstances prevailing on the time, together with an entire communications blackout because of safety causes.” He promised a extra detailed account of occasions “when alternative permits.”

“I’ve by no means sought workplace for private achieve, however I’ve all the time thought of myself the guardian of a nationwide undertaking,” he mentioned, including that his departure “on no account diminishes my deep sense of “belonging to Syria and its folks”. .