Where is Assad? After the fall of Damascus, his whereabouts are unknown

As many in Syria celebrated the end of the long rule of Bashar al-Assad , rumors swirled about his whereabouts. Russia says he fled Syria – where to exactly is unclear. Assad has not been seen or heard from since rebels declared Damascus “liberated” after sweeping through the capital and seizing key sites.

The location of his wife and two children are also not known. Since the uprising began, and the rebels rapidly advanced through the country, Assad has kept a low profile. After meeting with Iran’s foreign minister last weekend, he pledged to fight “terrorist organizations” but has otherwise made little comment as the rebels captured major cities.



On Saturday, as the rebels encircled Damascus, a source told CNN that Assad was nowhere to be found in the city. Assad’s Presidential Guard were also no longer deployed at his usual residence, as they would be if he was there, the source said, fueling speculation ahead of Sunday’s developments that he may have escaped. Syria’s presidential office denied that Assad had left Damascus or travelled to another country, saying that some foreign media outlets were “spreading rumors and false news.

” After the rebels took the capital, they said he had fled and were searching for him. Some of the fighters along with civilians began ransacking his official residences. Amid the rumors, Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement Sunday saying Assad had “decided to leave the presidential post and left the country, giving instructions to transfer power peacefully.

” The statement added that Russia “did not participate in these negotiations.” A source close to the rebels told CNN that the ousted president had left Damascus under Russian protection, and a separate source said he traveled to Latakia in northwest Syria, where Russia has an airbase. Flight tracking data shows that a plane departed from Damascus airport at just before 2 a.

m. local time on Sunday in the direction of the coast before making a sudden U-turn over the city of Homs and disappearing off the map. CNN cannot confirm whether Assad was on this flight.

Who might host Assad? Russia is an obvious destination, although the foreign ministry did not say where he was heading to. Iran is another possibility. Wherever he lands it is an abrupt and ignominious end to more than two decades in power.

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