Mystery surrounds a plane that disappeared from a flight tracker while flying over Syria, sparking theories that it was carrying President Assad and may have crashed or even been shot down.
Flight tracking website Flightradar 24 showed a plane believed to be carrying Bashar al-Assad leaving the Syrian capital Damascus in the early hours of Sunday morning and heading towards the Mediterranean Sea, before making a U turn and disappear from the map.
Reuters quickly reported that “there was a very high probability that Assad had died in a plane crash, as it was a mystery why the plane made a surprise turn and disappeared,” citing two unnamed Syrian sources.
But Russia has now called for the story to be retracted amid reports that the Syrian dictator had landed in Moscow and been granted asylum there following the humiliating collapse of his regime.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Reuters of spreading “fake” news following the story linking Assad to the alleged accident.
‘I wonder if Reuters, which reported on Assad’s ‘highly probable’ death, will refute itself.’ she asked.
In an earlier statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Assad had resigned as president and left Syria, but did not provide details about where he had moved.
It was later reported that Assad and his family had arrived in Russia after being granted asylum in Moscow, the country’s state media claimed, citing a Kremlin source.
Al-Assad and his family arrived in Russia and were granted asylum in Moscow, Russian state media said, citing a Kremlin source (file image of al-Assad, his wife Asma al-Assad (C) walking with their children , Hafez (2nd-R), Karim (R) and Zein (L) in 2022)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during their meeting at the Moscow Kremlin on July 24, 2024.
The Interfax news agency quoted an anonymous source as saying: ‘President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted him and his family asylum on humanitarian grounds.
Asked if Assad had been confirmed to be in the Russian capital, a Western official said they believed that was probably the case and had no reason to doubt Moscow’s claim.
He reportedly left his home country early Sunday, and Syrians have been flooding the streets with celebratory gunfire after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Syrian government’s 50 years of iron rule. al-Assad family.
“Maybe he thought he knew this was going to happen, so he tried to take himself and leave everyone else,” Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army intelligence officer, told MailOnline of the rumored transfer of al- Assad to Russia.
The alleged asylum of Assad, his former ally and protector, comes as Syrian opposition leaders guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions inside Syria, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source.
The state news agency TASS said: “Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the Syrian armed opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on the territory of Syria.”
Russia, Assad’s biggest backer along with Iran, owns a naval base in Tartus and a military airfield in Khmeimim.
Moscow’s forces became militarily involved in the Syrian conflict in 2015, providing support to Assad’s forces to crush the opposition in the bloody civil war.
Flightradar24 showed a plane heading from the Syrian capital Damascus towards the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The plane then appears to make a U-turn before disappearing from the map.
People kick down a sign depicting Syrian President Bashar al Assad after the Syrian army command notified officers that al-Assad’s 24-year rule had ended.
Residents of Hama set fire to a large banner with the image of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hanging on the facade of a municipal building.
People celebrate in Damascus’ Umayyad Square on December 8, 2024, as rebel soldiers declare they have taken the capital.
‘Russia has always been in favor of a political solution to the Syrian crisis. “Our starting point is the need to resume negotiations under UN auspices,” the Kremlin source added.
A Russian representative to the United Nations announced that Moscow had requested an emergency closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Syria for Monday afternoon.
“The consequences (of the events in Syria) for this country and the entire region have not yet been measured,” the official said on Telegram.
Joyful crowds gathered in squares across Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag in scenes reminiscent of the early days of the Arab Spring uprising, before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war. years.
Others gleefully ransacked the presidential palace and residence after Assad and other top officials disappeared.
Syrian state television broadcast a rebel statement early Sunday saying Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been freed.
They called on people to preserve the institutions of the “free Syrian state.” The rebels subsequently announced a curfew in Damascus from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
The rebels said they freed people held at the notorious Saydnaya prison, where human rights groups say thousands were tortured and killed.
A video circulating online purported to show rebels breaking down cell doors and freeing dozens of prisoners, many of whom appeared shaken. At least one small child was seen among them.
“This happiness will not be complete until I can see my son leave prison and know where he is,” said a relative, Bassam Masr. I’ve been looking for it for two hours. He has been detained for 13 years.’
Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi later appeared on state television and tried to reassure Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, saying: “Syria is for everyone, no exceptions.” “Syria is for the Druze, the Sunnis, the Alawites and all the sects.”
“We will not treat people like the Al-Assad family did,” he added.