Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president, issued his first public statement since fleeing to Moscow over a week ago, denying claims that his departure from Syria was planned or tied to the final stages of combat.
Assad insisted his visit to Lattakia, a Russian military base in Syria, was to oversee operations before Russia facilitated his evacuation.
In his statement, Assad declared, “At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge.”
He maintained his commitment to fighting the “terrorist onslaught” and reiterated his stance as the leader who refused to compromise Syria’s interests for personal gain.
Assad’s statement coincides with the discovery of mass graves near Damascus, believed to contain some of the 105,000 Syrians who disappeared under his regime.
Satellite imagery analysed by The Times shows how a regular graveyard north of Damascus was converted into a mass burial site beginning in 2012, a year after the start of Syria’s civil war.
A gravedigger, Abed Bou Jihad, described chilling scenes of trucks arriving at night with blood seeping from their undersides, marking the roads the following day.
Reports from Amnesty International reveal that detainees were condemned to death after brief trials at the Military Field Court in Damascus’s al-Qaboun neighbourhood. The executions, referred to as “the party” by prison authorities, involved:
Blindfolded victims are unaware of their fate until minutes before hanging.
Mass hangings of 20 to 50 people once or twice a week.
After the hangings, bodies were transported to Tishreen Hospital for registration before being buried in mass graves.
These revelations highlight ongoing concerns about war crimes committed during Assad’s regime and underscore the scale of human rights abuses during Syria’s civil war. The international community continues to demand accountability for these atrocities.
