Assad did not even tell his younger brother Maher, commander of the army’s elite 4th Armored Division, about the escape plan.
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has kept his escape plans a secret from aides, officials and even relatives, Reuters reported on Friday, December 13, citing 14 people familiar with the matter. . Hours before he fled to Moscow on December 7, Assad attended a meeting with about 30 army and security commanders at the Defense Ministry. He assured those present that Russian military aid was on the way, and called on the ground forces to remain, while he himself planned an escape.
Military aid fraud
According to Reuters, Assad has long made it clear that Russia will not provide any military aid. The Syrian president visited Moscow on November 28, but his calls for military intervention “saw no response in the Kremlin,” three regional diplomats said. The head of the Syrian opposition abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, said that Assad had not communicated this to his comrades. “He told his commanders and comrades after his trip to Moscow that military support would be provided,” al-Bahra said.
See you tomorrow
Even relatives do not know about Assad’s plans. He did not tell his younger brother Maher Assad, commander of the army’s elite 4th Armored Division, that he was planning to flee. According to Reuters interlocutors, Maher Assad flew by helicopter to Iraq and then to Russia. Assad’s cousins Ehab and Eyad were also in Damascus when the militants entered and tried to flee by car to Lebanon, but were reportedly ambushed in a shootout in which one of them was killed.
The last prime minister of Assad’s government, Mohammed Jalali, said on Al Arabiya television that he spoke to the president by phone on Saturday at 10:30 pm and described the difficult situation, as well as the panic. and chaos in the city streets. “He replied: “See you tomorrow. Tomorrow, tomorrow’ was the last thing he said to me,” said Jalali.
Flight to Moscow
On Sunday, Assad left Damascus on a plane with the transponder turned off, two Reuters sources said. At first, Assad, according to three of the agency’s interlocutors, wanted to take refuge in the UAE, but the country’s authorities were afraid of an international reaction and rejected him. However, Moscow, despite rejecting military intervention, is not ready to abandon Assad, writes Reuters.
Diplomatic efforts to secure Assad have been led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has enlisted Turkey and Qatar to mediate ties with Islamist militants, two Reuters sources said. They agreed with the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the forces opposed to Assad. Moscow also coordinated with neighboring countries to ensure that a Russian plane leaving Syrian airspace with Assad would not be intercepted or attacked.
As a result, Assad reached from Damascus the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Latakia province, and from there to Moscow. According to some Reuters interlocutors, Assad’s wife Asma and their three children are already waiting for him in the Russian capital. Videos taken by militants who entered the palace that served as the Assad family’s main residence showed him leaving his home in a hurry. The footage shows food and personal belongings left on the stove, Reuters wrote. The journalists did not contact Assad himself, who received asylum in Moscow.
Source: korrespondent
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