Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.
The comments are the first by Assad since he was overthrown by insurgent groups.
Assad said in a statement on his Facebook page that he left Damascus on the morning of Dec. 8, hours after insurgents stormed the capital. He said he left in coordination with Russian allies to the Russian base in the coastal province of Latakia, where he planned to keep fighting.
Assad said that after the Russian base came under attack by drones, the Russians decided to move him on the night of Dec. 8 to Russia. 鈥淚 did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier,鈥� Assad said.
Meanwhile, a U.K.-based war monitor said Israeli airstrikes early Monday hit missile warehouses in Syria and called it the 鈥渕ost violent strikes鈥� since 2012.
Israel has been pounding what it says are military sites in Syria after the dramatic collapse of rule, wiping out air defenses and most of the arsenal of the former Syrian army. Israeli troops have also , sparking condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating the 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria for a land grab.
Here is the latest:
Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russians evacuated him
DAMASCUS, Syria 鈥� Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.
The comments are the first by Assad since he was overthrown by insurgent groups.
Assad said in a statement on his Facebook page that he left Damascus on the morning of Dec. 8, hours after insurgents stormed the capital. He said he left in coordination with Russian allies to the Russian base in the coastal province of Latakia, where he planned to keep fighting.
Assad said that after the Russian base came under attack by drones, the Russians decided to move him on the night of Dec. 8 to Russia. 鈥淚 did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier,鈥� Assad said.
鈥淎t no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge nor was such proposal made by any individual or party,鈥� Assad said in the English text of his statement. 鈥淭he only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught.鈥�
Death toll from Israel-Hamas war tops 45,000
Health officials in the Gaza Strip say the death toll from the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas militants has reached 45,028 people.
The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It said more than half of the fatalities were women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The Health Ministry also said 106,962 have been wounded since the start of the war.
Turkey condemns Israeli plan to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Heights
ANKARA, Turkey 鈥� A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said Monday the decision marked a 鈥渘ew stage in Israel鈥檚 goal of expanding its borders through occupation,鈥� adding that Ankara was concerned that the move would harm efforts to establish peace and stability in Syria.
鈥淭he international community must show the necessary reaction to Israel and ensure that the illegal activities of (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu鈥檚 government come to an end,鈥� the statement read.
Qatar also condemned the decision, calling it 鈥渁 new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories and a blatant violation of international law.鈥�
The Israeli government approved Netanyahu鈥檚 plan on Sunday with the aim to encourage population growth in the area.
Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it, though the international community except for the U.S. regards it as occupied. Israeli figures show the remote territory is home to about 50,000 people, about half of them Jewish Israelis and the other half Arab Druze, many of whom still consider themselves Syrians.
Mourners in Gaza gather for funeral of Al Jazeera journalist
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip 鈥� In central Gaza鈥檚 Nuseirat urban refugee camp, mourners carried Monday the body of Ahmad Baker Al-Louh, 39, a Palestinian journalist working for Al Jazeera, from the hospital through the streets. His blue bulletproof vest rested atop him.
Al-Louh was killed the day before in a strike on a point for Gaza鈥檚 civil defense agency and Al Jazeera said had been covering rescue operations of a family wounded in an earlier bombing when he was killed.
Sunday鈥檚 strike also killed three civil defense workers, including the local head of the agency, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The civil defense is Gaza鈥檚 main rescue agency and operates under the Hamas-run government.
Israeli strike kills 10 in Gaza City
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip 鈥� The 10 included a family of four, Palestinian medics said Monday, as the Israel-Hamas war raged on for the 14th month in the Gaza Strip.
The strike late Sunday hit a house in Gaza City鈥檚 eastern Shijaiyah neighborhood, according to the Health Ministry鈥檚 ambulance and emergency service. Rescuers recovered the bodies of 10 people from under the rubble, including those of two parents and their two children, it said.
US Embassy advises Americans to leave Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria 鈥� The U.S. Embassy in Damascus advised Americans to leave Syria, saying the security situation there continues to be volatile and unpredictable with armed conflict and 鈥渢errorism throughout the country."
The embassy, which has been closed since 2012, posted a statement on X, warning U.S. citizens who were unable to leave the country to prepare 鈥渃ontingency plans for emergency situations.鈥� It didn't give further details.
The statement also said that the U.S. government is unable to provide any routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens and those who need 鈥渆mergency assistance to depart should contact the U.S. Embassy in the country they plan to enter.鈥�
Sleeper cells of the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility for deadly attacks over the past months in different parts of Syria. Despite their defeat in March 2019, the extremists still pose a threat in the war-torn country.
War monitor says Israel targets missile warehouses
DAMASCUS, Syria 鈥� The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported early Monday that Israeli airstrikes pounded missile warehouses and other former Syrian army sites along Syria鈥檚 coast in the 鈥渕ost violent strikes in the Syrian coast region since the beginning of the (Israeli) strikes in 2012.鈥�
The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes.
The observatory said that 鈥渧iolent explosions鈥� were heard in the coastal city of Tartous 鈥渁s a result of the successive strikes and the flying of ground-to-ground missiles from the warehouses.鈥�
The Associated Press
