Bashir al-Assad Exiled to Russia Against His Will

Two tyrants in happier times. (Undated photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

On his Facebook account written in English, ousted Syrian despot Bashar Assad claimed he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack. He left Damascus on the morning of 8 Dec, hours after insurgents stormed the capital. Assad said he left Damascus in coordination with Russian allies to the naval base in Latakia where he planned to keep fighting.


Russian military vehicle in Syria. (Undated photo)

The former Syrian dictator alleged that after the Russian base came under attack by drones, the Kremlin decided to evacuate him to Moscow on the night of 8 Dec.

Sidenote: A Syrian friend of mine informed me that Bashir al-Assad "didn't even tell his brother Maher and just abandoned him."


But did Bashir al-Assad really intend to abandon his brother? Undated photo of Maher al-Assad.


Russian Ilyushin-76 military cargo plane.

“I did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier,” Assad said. “At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge nor was such proposal made by any individual or party,” Assad said in the English text of his statement. “The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught.”


The London-trained oculist in mufti directing his generals. (undated photo)

Russia had a sizeable military presence in Syria and their intelligence services were aware for months that Bashir al-Assad’s hold on power was untenable. Unsurprisingly, the Kremlin evacuated the Syrian despot. Putin’s envoys immediately began negotiating with the HTS rebels about the fate of the Russian naval and air bases in Tartus and Khmeimim.




According to the Financial Times, between 2018 and 2019 Assad sent about $250 million in cash to Russia, a period that coincided with when Syria became dependent on Moscow’s military support.

Nearly two tons of banknotes in $100 and €500 bills were flown from Syria into Moscow’s Vnukovo airport to be deposited at sanctioned Russian banks.



Theory:

One wonders who the target audience of Bashir al-Assad’s English language Facebook post was intended for. Would it be the Alevi minority population that he once protected in Syria but has since abandoned? Possibly. Since the internet is choc-a-bloc with videos of Assad’s now exposed torture chambers, the London-trained ophthalmologist would be incredibly tone deaf if he was writing to the Syrian people or the West. With two tons of Bashir al-Assad’s US and British cash safely in the hands of the Putin-controlled Russian banking system, the former dictator of Syria and his usefulness to Vladimir Putin has now completely ended.


Asma al-Assad, the good-looking wife of the deposed dictator in an undated photo.

Since Bashir al-Assad’s communications are being completely monitored by the GRU, his public Facebook post may have been an indirect signal to Tehran for intervention without angering Putin.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-syria-news-16-december-2024-4ed0ec24506a1b78f0561ed0cc8f0994

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/16/assad-regime-airlifted-250m-from-syria-to-russia-ft-a87348