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
Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule of Syria ended abruptly in December 2024 following a lightning advance by rebel forces who struck while the Russian and Iranian allies who had backed him through years of civil war were distracted by conflicts elsewhere.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that a deal reached with Syria on the future of Moscow's military bases in the country would boost ties between the nations, and a Syrian source said some Russian forces would still be stationed there under the agreement.
Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday abolished the death penalty and replaced all existing death sentences with life imprisonment, the speaker's office said in a statement.
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