Assad says he was forced to flee Syria from Russian military base

In first public statement since fleeing Syria a week ago, ousted leader denies he planned to leave

In a statement released on the Telegram of the Syrian Presidency, Bashar Al Assad described his flight from Damascus. AP

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Syria's former president Bashar Al Assad said his exit to Moscow was "not planned", in his first public statement since fleeing to Russia a week ago. Mr Al Assad left after a 12-day lightning offensive led by rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) left Syrian Army soldiers abandoning their posts and officials scrambling to leave the country as his grip on the nation collapsed.

When the rebel group entered Damascus, Mr Al Assad purportedly said in a statement released on the Syrian Presidency Telegram channel that he had moved to the port city of Latakia, where the Russian base he was in came under fire. "With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December," his statement, also shared on his Facebook page, said.

"This took place a day after the fall of Damascus following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions. At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught."

Mr Al Assad's fall ended his 24-year rule and a 14-year civil war sparked by brutal clampdowns on popular protests in 2011. He took over power from his father Hafez Al Assad in 2000, maintaining his grip through wide-scale arrests of dissidents and ordinary Syrians.

In the week since he was ousted, evidence of the regime's brutality is emerging, as political prisoners gain freedom from notorious jails and the huge scale of a drug-making and export operation launched to pay the country's bills have been revealed. Mr Al Assad said his position as leader of Syria had become untenable, railing against the "terrorism" of HTS.

"When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless," the statement read. He added he remained committed to Syria.

Mr Al Assad did not elaborate on his future plans, instead detailing how he had left Syria on December 8. He said his statement was intended to set the record straight "amid a flood of misinformation" and had not come sooner due to "a total communication blackout for security reasons".