"It's a longing filled with hope that Syria will become free and independent again", he says in a statement published on the former regime's Telegram channel.
This is the first time al-Assad has spoken out since he was forced from power on December 8. Russia later confirmed that he was in the country.
According to al-Assad, the plan was never to leave Syria. He would never "abandon his people or betray the army and the country he belongs to", he claims in the statement.
"On the contrary, I stayed in Damascus and performed my duties until early Sunday, December 8, 2024. While terrorist forces invaded Damascus, I went to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to monitor the combat operations", he says and continues:
"At no point during these events did I consider resigning or fleeing."
The decision to evacuate was instead made by Moscow, according to al-Assad. He says he left Syria on the evening of December 8.
Since the regime fell under the leadership of the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), tens of thousands of Syrians have gathered and celebrated in different cities. At the same time, finds after al-Assad's flight have testified to his brutal rule: dead, mutilated prisoners in morgues, torture devices in abandoned prisons, and reports of suspected mass graves filled with regime critics.
