Syrian president fled the country on a plane, departing from Damascus international airport before Syrian rebels arrived in the capital
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed this morning that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the country after giving orders to move forward with a peaceful transfer of power.
“Following negotiations between Bashar al-Assad and a certain number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of Syria, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power,” it read in a statement from the ministry, which adds that Russia is not involved in his departure.
Before this statement was released, a source close to the rebels told CNN that Bashar al-Assad had fled Damascus under Russian protection. Another source indicated that the president traveled to Latakia, in northwestern Syria, where Russia has an air base.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan assumed that Bashar al-Assad “is probably outside Syria”, thus responding to a question about the Syrian leader’s whereabouts, on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, an international conference taking place in Qatar .
“I’m not sure. I can’t comment on that. I think he’s outside Syria,” replied Fidan.
The truth is that Bashar al-Assad’s whereabouts are still not known. According to Reuters, al-Assad fled the country on a plane, departing from Damascus international airport before the Syrian rebels arrived in the capital.
After the fall of the regime, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate “the beginning of a new era in Syria”. Dozens stormed Bashar al-Assad’s residence after it was ransacked in an upscale neighborhood of the capital, taken over by rebels. According to Reuters reports, several children were seen running towards the entrance of al-Assad’s presidential palace, while several men came out of the building carrying furniture.
