Syria’s deposed President Bashar al-Assad given ‘asylum’ in Moscow | World | News
Syria‘s deposed President Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow, according to Russian state media.
A source told Tass news agency: “Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow, Russia, based on humanitarian considerations, granted them asylum.”
Russia had announced on Sunday that Assad had left the country but did not confirm where he was headed.
Speculation had been mounting that Assad may have flown to the United Arab Emirates after his flight disappeared from radars.
Assad has been removed from power in Syria after rebels launched a surprise offensive in late November.
In recent days, the rebels have stormed through key cities such as Aleppo and Homs before reaching the capital, Damascus, on Saturday.
Assad has been in power in Syria since 2000. His brutal oppression of anti-government protests sparked the Syrian civil war, which lasted five years.
He saw off anti-government forces thanks largely to the help of Iran-backed Hezbollah and Russia.
Vladimir Putin‘s forces launched its military intervention in Syria in 2015, striking ISIS and other anti-government forces with huge airstrikes.
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But Putin was accused of overseeing a ‘scorched earth’ tactic as Russian airstrikes also pummeled civilian areas.
The intervention preserved Assad’s place in power as the civil war ended in 2016.
As Assad’s regime fell, Syrian rebel groups released a statement that said: “The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people.”
They added that the recent events will be a new birth for “great Syria.”
On Sunday, images shared online showed Syrians raiding the presidential palace and celebrating in the streets.
