Syrian President, Assad, Overthrown by Rebels, Flees to Russia, Gets Asylum

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Jubilant crowds gathered in Damascus yesterday after the stunning advance from opposition forces put an end to the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule, but raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region.

President Bashar Assad and other officials, including his family, left Syria,  after the erstwhile leader resigned and hosted negotiations with rebel groups, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said Assad left Syria after negotiations with opposition fighters and gave “instructions” to “transfer power peacefully”, adding that “Russia did not participate in these negotiations.”

After fleeing Damascus ahead of a rebel advance, Assad and his family were confirmed last night to have  arrived in Moscow and had been granted political asylum, according to Russia state media.

US President, Joe Biden, welcomed the fall of the Assad regime in remarks from the White House.

The US leader described it as a “historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future” while cautioning that it was also a moment of risk and uncertainty in the region.

It was the first time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a siege.

The leader of the largest insurgent group in Syria visited the Syrian capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque and declared that the victory against Assad “is a victory to the Islamic nation.”

Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, made his first public appearance and remarks since fighters entered Damascus, a CBS News report added.

He told hundreds of people at the historic mosque that Assad had made Syria “a farm for Iran’s greed.” He added that Assad made Syria a base for the illegal ‘amphetamine Captagon’ that brought cash to Assad’s circles.

The rapidly developing events have shaken the region. Lebanon said it was closing its land border crossings with Syria except for one that links Beirut with Damascus. Jordan also closed a border crossing with Syria.

The rebels now face the daunting task of healing bitter divides in a country ravaged by war and still split among different armed factions. Turkey-backed opposition fighters are battling US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group is still active in some remote areas.

Iran, which had strongly backed Assad’s deposed government, said Syrians should decide their country’s future “without destructive, coercive, foreign intervention.”

The statement from the Foreign Ministry on Sunday was the country’s first official reaction to the overthrow of Assad’s government by rebel forces.

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.”

The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key regional mediator, hosted an emergency meeting of foreign ministers and top officials from eight countries with interests in Syria. The participants included Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey.

The French Foreign Affairs ministry said France “welcomes” the fall of Assad’s government “after more than 13 years of violent repression against its own people.”

The ministry said in a statement: “The Syrian people have suffered too much. Bashar Assad has bled dry the country, emptied of a large part of its people who, if not forced into exile, have been massacred, tortured and bombarded with chemical weapons by the regime and its allies.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed understanding for the relief Syrian people felt after the fall of Assad’s government but warned that “the country must not now fall into the hands of other radicals.”

“Several hundred thousand Syrians have been killed in the civil war, millions have fled,” Baerbock said in a statement emailed by her office Sunday. “Assad has murdered, tortured and used poison gas against his own people. He must finally be held accountable for this,” she added.

The war in Syria began in 2011 when a pro-democracy uprising calling for the end of Assad’s long reign escalated quickly into a brutal civil war. Since then, the conflict has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced some 12 million from their homes.