Former Syrian President Basher al-Assad and his family arrived in Moscow following the Kremlin’s offer of asylum, Tass reported on December 8.
Al-Assad and his family departed by private jet from Damascus and arrived in Abu Dhabi on late December 7, as rebels were closing in on Damascus. It is unclear when he left the capital of the United Arab Emirates to transfer to Moscow.
OSINT observers and military analysts monitoring developments in Syria have raised alarms about increased activity by Russian forces at their Khmeimim Air Base.
Reports highlight the arrival of multiple transport aircraft, a move some interpret as signaling a potential evacuation of critical Russian assets from the region.
The army command issued the statement early on Sunday following reports of the terrorists’ entrance in Damascus and Assad’s departure from the city.
Reuters, citing two army officers, said that Assad had earlier on Sunday flown out of Damascus for an unknown destination before the groups reached the city.
Today’s news round on Syria highlights the rapid escalation of conflict and its far-reaching implications. Rebel forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Turkish-backed factions, have seized Aleppo in a major offensive, marking the most significant challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years. The fighting has spread to key areas like Hama, with intense clashes between government troops and insurgents, supported by foreign powers on both sides. The United States and Russia are also actively engaged, with Centcom destroying weapons threatening U.S. forces in eastern Syria, while Moscow accuses “external forces” of fueling violence. Analysts warn of broader geopolitical repercussions as Syria’s civil war shifts from stalemate to intensified proxy battles, underscoring the need for a strategic international response to address the deepening crisis.
“Where is the victory? How much did it cost? What defeat is more terrible than such losses? How can one claim victory in the face of a massacre that has destroyed all the logic of resistance? It’s not too late to ask Hezbollah to explain its unilateral and deadly decision to open the confrontation [with Israel] under Iran’s cover.” — Nabil Bou Monsef, prominent Lebanese journalist, kataeb.org, November 27, 2024.
On Friday, December 6, at 1:30 p.m. ET. the Atlantic Council will host a virtual public event entitled “Commanding the Alliance: Perspectives from SACEURs.”
This December 7th marks the 83rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on the American fleet berthed at Pearl Harbor on a quiet Sunday morning.
It devastated our naval fleet, killing 2,403 Americans, and left a nation in shock.
The world’s 100 largest defense companies increased their combined revenues from sales of arms and military services by 4.2% last year, totaling $632 billion, according to a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
President-elect Trump campaigned on being a “crpyto president,” promising to open up the floodgates on cryptocurrency by undoing regulations imposed by President Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
But according to a Wednesday report in the Guardian, crypto deregulation could provide a significant benefit to extremist groups and foreign terrorist organizations that use crypto to finance their activity. The outlet noted that neo-Nazi group The Base – which has been under FBI investigation for years — used the new development of an incoming pro-crypto administration to solicit donations via cryptocurrency on Election Day.
Offering to negotiate with Islamic terrorists is a statement of weakness. Jihadists only offer to negotiate out of fear, weakness or to entrap us, and they assume we do the same thing. Nothing would ever convince them that we genuinely want to live in peace with them, or that we prefer alternatives to violence. So any time we offer to negotiate, they see it as weakness or a trick.