By Rachel Dobkin
Weekend Reporter
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Deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad went to Russia, a key ally to the fallen regime, after fleeing his country following the collapse of the Assad government to the rebels, according to Russian state media on Sunday.
Rebel fighters poured into the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, bringing an end to the 24-year reign of Assad and his Baath Party, which had ruled the country since a 1963 coup.
Following the rebels' ascend to power, Assad vanished, his whereabouts unknown until Sunday afternoon when Russian state media reported that he was in Moscow. Other top Assad government officials have also disappeared, with their whereabouts still unknown.
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An unnamed Kremlin source told the Interfax news agency, "President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them [him and his family] asylum on humanitarian grounds."
Meanwhile, the Tass news agency quoted an unnamed Kremlin source as saying, "Russia has always spoken in favor of a political settlement of the Syrian crisis. We insist that the UN [United Nations]-mediated talks be resumed."
"Russian officials are in touch with representatives of armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions on the Syrian territory," the source said.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian government via email for comment Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, early Sunday morning, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, in reaction to Assad's disappearance from Syria, "His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by [Russia President] Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever."
Trump was referring to the Russia-Ukraine war which began when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its Eastern European neighbor in February 2022. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that over 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died so far in the war.
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Assad Flees Syria
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Assad resigned from the presidency and left Syria after negotiations with the rebels. It added that Assad gave "instructions for a peaceful transfer of power."
The ministry said that Moscow "did not participate in these negotiations."
Meanwhile, previous unconfirmed media reports said Assad had been visiting Moscow when rebels reached Aleppo late last month before returning to his country. Assad has not publicly spoken since the rebels seized Aleppo last weekend.
Syrians Celebrate End to Decades of Assad Rule
Meanwhile, crowds gathered in the streets of Syria to celebrate the end of the Assad family's 50 years of iron rule. People waved the Syrian revolutionary flag as celebratory gunfire reverberated through the air. Others ransacked the presidential palace and residence with Assad and other top officials gone.
Assad became the president of Syria in 2000, succeeding his father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled from 1971 until he died in 2000. For nearly 14 years, the country had been in a civil war, starting as a March 2011 protest against Assad's rule.
Update 12/8/24, 3:07 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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