As Syrian Rebel Forces Claim Control Of Damascus, Reports Of Assad Fleeing To Russia Emerge

Syria's opposition forces have claimed to have seized control of the capital, Damascus, with reports stating that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country.

Prior to the opposition forces reportedly securing the airport, open-source flight trackers detected an aircraft, believed to be carrying Assad and his family.

Photo Credit: PTI/AP

The flight, identified as Syrian Air 9218, an Illyushin-76, was the last to take off from Damascus. It initially flew east, then north, before its signal disappeared while circling over Homs. It is suspected that Assad has fled to Russia.

Bashar al-Assad inherited the Syrian presidency from his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled the country with an iron fist from 1971 until his death in 2000.

Upon his father's death, Bashar, a former medical student, ascended to the presidency and also became the head of the Ba'ath Party and commander of the armed forces.

In 2011, when Syrians took to the streets demanding democratic reforms, al-Assad's response was brutal. He ordered a violent crackdown, labelling protestors as "terrorists," and his refusal to step down led to a civil war.

During the years of conflict, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, Assad faced allegations of using chemical weapons against civilians.

In spite of the ongoing war, he held elections in territories under government control, but these elections were widely dismissed as undemocratic.

Despite never fully winning the war, Assad managed to maintain power, largely due to the support of his followers, including the Alawite minority.