Son of ousted Syrian dictator details family's escape from Damascus In a video message from Moscow

Hafiz Assad, the son of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, has posted a video on his Telegram account, confirming that the page truly belongs to him. 

Filming himself on the streets of Moscow, Assad stated that he does not have any social media profiles elsewhere, Caliber.Az reports via Israeli media.

In a recent post, which was published in both English and Arabic, Hafiz shared details about his family's flight from Damascus. He explained that their escape had been unplanned, with the government only becoming alarmed when it was reported that troops had withdrawn from Hama. Prior to that, gunfire had been heard in the capital, but it was not deemed unusual.

He revealed that no one had considered leaving Damascus until a high-ranking Russian official arrived one night and urged them to move temporarily to Latakia, citing growing dangers in the capital. It was suggested that military operations could be coordinated from the coastal city instead.

Upon arriving at the airport at 3 am, Assad and his family found other members of the Assad clan, including Bashar's brother, Mahir. They boarded a Russian plane and were flown to the Hmeimim airbase.

Once at the base, they were informed that government forces were retreating, and soon, opposition forces began launching kamikaze drone attacks on the Russian-controlled airbase. By 8 December, Russian military officials warned of an imminent threat to the base's capture.

Following consultations with Russian commanders, it was decided that the family would be flown to Moscow, with Russia offering no objections to the move.

By Aghakazim Guliyev