Ousted Leader Assad Claims He Wanted To Stay In Syria But Was Evacuated By Russia

Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia from western Syria after rebels captured Damascus, ending the nation's decades-long tyrannical regime.

DAMASCUS (AP) — Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad said Monday he wanted to stay in the country after rebels captured the capital, but the Russian military evacuated him from their base in western Syria after it came under attack.

They were Assad’s first public comments since he was overthrown by insurgent groups just over a week ago following a swift offensive that has shaken up the country’s alliances and led to celebrations in a nation long stifled by civil war.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the new transitional government told The Associated Press that the new Syria will be inclusive and open to the world.

Assad said on Facebook 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 their Hmeimim air base in the coastal province of Latakia, where he had planned to keep fighting.

But after the Russian base came under attack by drones, he said, the Russians decided to move him that night to Russia.