Russia says Bashar al-Assad has 'stepped down and left Syria'

According to his ally Russia, Bashar al-Assad has resigned from his position as president and has departed from Syria. This announcement came shortly after rebel forces gained control of the capital, Damascus.

The Russian foreign ministry did not provide additional information regarding Assad's location, but this marks the first official announcement confirming that he has left the country.

Assad hasn't been seen in public since his meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Damascus a week ago. During that meeting, he promised to "defeat" the rebels who are rapidly taking over areas.

On Sunday morning, shortly after their fighters took control of the city without facing any opposition, the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its partners announced that "the dictator Bashar al-Assad has escaped."

The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitoring organization based in the UK, reported that a plane thought to be transporting Assad departed Syria from Damascus international airport just before the military security personnel vacated the location. Rami Abdul Rahman mentioned that he received details indicating that the flight was scheduled to take off at 10:00 PM local time (8:00 PM GMT) on Saturday.

The Flightradar24 website didn't show any departures around that time. However, a Cham Wings Airlines Airbus A320 did take off at approximately 12:56 AM on Sunday, heading to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The aircraft arrived in Sharjah as scheduled. However, a diplomatic advisor to the UAE president informed journalists in Bahrain that he was unsure whether Assad was in the UAE or not.

The Reuters news agency reported, citing two high-ranking Syrian military officials who wished to remain anonymous, that Assad boarded a Syrian Air aircraft at Damascus airport early Sunday morning.

It was reported that a Syrian Air Ilyushin Il-76T cargo aircraft departed from the airport at 03:59 local time (01:59 GMT), heading to an unspecified location.

Data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft first flew east from the capital before changing its course to the northwest, directing its flight toward the Mediterranean coast. This area is known for being a stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect and hosts Russian naval and air bases.

After passing over the heart of Homs, which was taken by the rebels on Saturday night, the aircraft, cruising at 20,000 feet (6,095 meters), turned around and began heading east again while descending.

The aircraft's transponder signal disappeared at approximately 04:39 local time (02:39 GMT) while it was positioned about 13 kilometers (8 miles) to the west of Homs, flying at a height of 1,625 feet (495 meters).

In a message on X, Flightradar24 mentioned that the plane was quite old and had an outdated transponder, which meant that some information could be flawed or incomplete. They also pointed out that the aircraft was operating in a region with GPS interference, which could further affect the accuracy of the data. Additionally, they noted that there were no known airports nearby where the signal was interrupted.

No incidents of a plane crash have been reported in that location.