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Assad's Secret Escape to Moscow Amidst Deception and Family Flight

Dec 13, 2024, 07:08 PM

Bashar al-Assad, the former President of Syria, fled the country in a clandestine operation as his regime crumbled under the pressure of advancing rebel forces. According to multiple sources, Assad deceived his aides, officials, and even close relatives about his plans to escape. He assured military leaders that Russian military support was on its way, urging them to hold out, while he secretly prepared to leave. Assad did not inform his younger brother Maher, the commander of the elite 4th Armoured Division, about his exit plan, leading Maher to independently flee to Iraq and then Russia. Similarly, Assad's maternal cousins, Ehab and Eyad Makhlouf, were left behind during the fall of Damascus, with Ehab reportedly killed in an ambush. Assad's escape was facilitated by Russian intelligence, who convinced him to leave as rebels advanced. He flew to Moscow via the Russian airbase in Latakia, Syria, with his immediate family already waiting for him in the Russian capital. The operation was marked by deception, with Assad misleading his inner circle about his whereabouts and intentions, ultimately leaving his supporters to face their fate as he sought refuge in Russia.