Syria's Bashar al-Assad said on Monday he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base in Syria on the evening of Dec. 8 as it came under drone attacks, after leaving Damascus that morning with opposition fighters closing in.
Bashar al-Assad © DEZ
Syria's Bashar al-Assad said on Monday he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base in Syria on the evening of Dec. 8 as it came under drone attacks, after leaving Damascus that morning with opposition fighters closing in.
The comment, in a statement that was published on the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel and dated Dec. 16 from Moscow, was Assad's first in public since he was toppled more than a week ago by a rebel offensive.
Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Tom Perry
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