Fleeing Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, and his family have reportedly arrived in Moscow.
Russian state media within the Kremlin reported that Al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia.
Henzodaily reported earlier that al-Assad, whose regime has been accused of multiple chemical weapon attacks on civilians, fled Syria after rebel forces entered the capital city of Damascus, according to Reuters.
Assad, who trained as an ophthalmologist in the United Kingdom before taking over leadership from his father, Hafez al-Assad, fled alongside his British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, and their three children, as reported by Syrian state television.
For the past four years, it had appeared that the civil war was effectively concluded.
Assad’s administration had regained control over the majority of Syria’s urban areas with assistance from Russia, Iran, and Iranian-backed militias such as Hezbollah, resulting in largely static frontlines.
Nevertheless, significant portions of the country remained beyond the government’s authority.
On November 27, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies announced the initiation of an offensive aimed at “deterring aggression,” accusing the government and its Iranian-backed militias of intensifying assaults on civilians.
This escalation occurred during a period when the government was already weakened by years of conflict, sanctions, and corruption, with its allies, Russia and Iran, seemingly preoccupied and drained by other military engagements.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, had recently faced setbacks due to Israeli operations in Lebanon, which included the elimination of Iranian military leaders in Syria, while the ongoing war in Ukraine diverted Russia.
Assad’s forces found themselves vulnerable without support from these allies.