Assad and family arrive in Moscow as Russia offers them asylum

Bashar al-Assad and his family arrived in Moscow, where Russia offered them asylum, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Overthrown Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow and has been granted asylum in Russia, a Kremlin source says, according to report by TASS.

“Assad and members of his family arrived in Moscow. Russia, based on humanitarian considerations, provided them with asylum,” the source said.

After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups reignited on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

Over 10 days, opposition forces launched a lightning offensive, capturing key cities and, on Sunday, the capital, Damascus. The rapid advance, supported by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.

Assad and family arrive in Moscow as Russia offers them asylum — Syrian residents in Turkey celebrate the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad after rebel fighters took control of the Syrian capital Damascus overnight, in Gaziantep, on December 8, 2024. – Islamist-led rebels toppled Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive that a UN envoy called “a watershed moment” for the nation marred by civil war. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP)

Syrian opposition guarantees security of Russian army bases

Meanwhile, Syrian opposition have “guaranteed the security” of Russian army bases in the country, a Kremlin source told Russian news agencies Sunday.

“Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the security of Russian army bases and diplomatic institutions on Syria’s territory,” the source told state-owned agencies TASS and Ria Novosti.