Urgent.. Reuters: This is what Bashar al-Assad’s last hours as president of Syria looked like
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad deceived his closest allies and left many of them in the dark about his plans to flee to Russia.
On Saturday evening, Assad held another security meeting with about 30 An officer and a member of the security forces, in which he confirmed the arrival of military aid soon, and called on the ground forces to continue fighting.
After that, Al-Assad informed his office director of his intention to return to his home, but he headed instead to the airport. Damascus.
He even invited the public relations director to his house to work on a new speech, but when she arrived, the house was completely empty.
He did not inform Assad. Even his younger brother Maher, commander of the 4th Division.
Maher was able to escape by helicopter to Iraq and from there continue by air train to Russia.
Two members of his mother’s family, Ihab and Ayyad, tried to They remained in Damascus, escaping to Lebanon by car, but they were ambushed, Ihab was killed, and Ayyad was wounded.
Assad himself took off from Damascus airport to the Russian Hmeimim air base in Latakia, and from there to Russia, where the plane turned off the site’s transmitters “devices.” Transmission and reception" During the trip.
His wife, Asma, and three children were already waiting for him in Russia.
A week before the collapse of his regime, Assad visited Russia, where his request to receive immediate, large-scale military aid was rejected.
p>
Upon his return, Al-Assad lied to his military leadership and said that Russian support was expected to arrive at any moment.
On December 2, during a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister in Damascus, Al-Assad was nervous. He very strongly criticized the Syrian army.
Senior Iranian officials claimed that Assad never requested Iranian military assistance, fearing that such a move would provoke a sharp reaction from Israel against Iran, both in Syria and within its territory.
Assad first tried to obtain political asylum in one of Arab countries in the Gulf, but his request was rejected for fear of international reactions.
A Russian diplomat said that while Russia refused to provide military assistance, it was decided not to abandon Assad completely.
A minister led Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was In Doha at that time, diplomatic efforts were underway to save Assad.
Lavrov appealed to Qatar and Turkey to ensure that Assad was not harmed, and even called on the countries of the region to refrain from trying to intercept his plane.
A Western source added that " Lavrov did everything in his power to save Assad.”
It is noteworthy that Turkey and Qatar refused to comment on this information, and the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had no role in Assad’s negotiations with the armed militias that entered Damascus
- For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Related
