Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to sources, has left the country’s capital, Damascus, amid an offensive by opposition forces. It is reported CNN.
According to the interlocutor of the publication, official sources of the Syrian authorities claim that Assad remains in the city, but the president no longer appears in any of his usual places of residence. In particular, the residence, where units of the presidential guard are usually located, no longer has any security.
The place where Bashar al-Assad could go remains unknown. However, it was previously assumed that he could flee to Russia or Iran, key allies of the Syrian government.
On December 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that the president’s relatives had already left Syria. According to the publication, Assad’s wife and children went to Russia, while other family members, including his brother-in-law, moved to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the authorities of Egypt and Jordan, according to journalists, called on Bashar al-Assad to leave Syria and establish a new authority outside the country.
As a reminder, the war in Syria has been going on since 2011 and includes fighting between government forces, opposition forces, Islamist groups, Kurds, as well as international participants, including the Russian Federation, the United States, Iran, and Turkey.
Recently, opposition groups have intensified offensive actions. In late November 2024, they attacked Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, which had been under the control of government forces since 2016. Already on November 30, the Syrian authorities announced the temporary withdrawal of troops from Aleppo, explaining it as preparation for a counteroffensive.
On December 5, the rebels captured the strategically important city of Hama, located in the south of the country. This allowed them to cut off government forces from a key route between Damascus and Aleppo. At the same time, the offensive continues in the area of Homs, in western Syria.
According to Reuters, as of December 7, opposition forces had already approached Damascus, which probably caused Assad to flee the capital.
