Syrian dictator Assad issues astonishing first statement since he was toppled: Tyrant insists he wanted to keep fighting and reveals ‘truth’ of his Russian evacuation in online rant

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made his first statement since he was ousted by rebel groups and fled to Russia less than two weeks ago.

Assad said from Moscow, where he was taking refuge, that he “had no intention of resigning or fleeing at any time during the events in Syria,” adding that he remained in the capital Damascus until the last possible moment.

He claimed to have fled in the early hours of December 8, hours before rebels from the Islamist group Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other militias took control of the capital.

In his statement, released on the official Syrian presidential channel on the Telegram messaging account, Assad said he had decided to speak to “address a flow of misinformation and stories that are far from the truth.”

“My departure from Syria was not planned and did not take place during the final hours of the fighting, as some claim. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus and fulfilled my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024.

“At no point during these events did I consider resigning or seeking refuge, nor was any such proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue the fight against the terrorist attack,” the former president stated.

He then portrayed himself as a dedicated leader and family man who stayed “by the side of his people” in Syria throughout the civil war – even as his forces conspired with Russian forces, Hezbollah and several Iranian-backed militias to massacre thousands of Syrians .

“I have never sought positions for personal gain, but have always considered myself the guardian of a national project, supported by the faith of the Syrian people, who believed in its vision,” he emphasized.

He concluded the statement by saying that he was “filled with hope that Syria will be free and independent again.”

People celebrate the collapse of 61 years of Baath Party rule as they gather in Umayyad Square after armed groups opposing the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad took power in Damascus, Syria on December 9, 2024

People in Damascus celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels said they have captured the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive

Body bags lie in a field after a mass grave was discovered in a farmland in Izra, Syria’s southern Daraa province on December 16, 2024

While Assad is in Moscow, HTS is busy taking control of Syria, setting up a transitional government and rolling out aid and services to civilians.

Last week, HTS announced on state television Mohammad al-Bashir – the head of the group’s so-called “Salvation Government” in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib – as interim prime minister of a transitional cabinet that will remain in place until March 1.

But the apparently stable beginnings of the transition government contradict what is happening elsewhere in Syria.

There are signs of a new civil war in the north, as Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants pour into Kurdish-held areas.

Widespread reports claimed the SNA was looting Kurdish homes, while shocking videos emerged that appeared to show Turkish-linked rebels executing wounded Kurdish soldiers as they lay in hospital beds in the city of Manbij.

Meanwhile, Israel carried out widespread airstrikes and bombings aimed at destroying the stockpiles of weapons and military equipment left behind by regime forces, while advancing troops and tanks deep into the buffer zone separating Syria from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Other reports claim that ISIS fighters captured and executed Syrian government forces as they fled the HTS attack through the Homs desert last week.