Assad arrives in Moscow, is granted asylum by Russia

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Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who fled the country Saturday as rebels closed in on the capital of Damascus, has arrived in Moscow and has been granted asylum by the Russian government, according to Russian News Agency Tass.

Speculation about where Assad might land has been widespread since the longtime dictator fled the country, with allies such as Iran and Russia being at the top of the list.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visit an air base in Latakia Province, Syria, Dec, 11, 2017. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/via Reuters/File)

Assad was forced to flee the country after a coalition of largely radical Islamist groups led a sweeping offensive across Syria, culminating in the capture of the country's capital city and the fall of Assad's regime, which had seen his family rule Syria for over 50 years.

The offensive was the latest development in a bloody civil war that has ravaged Syria for almost 14 years, a war that also led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization and yearslong interventions by countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Rebels In northwest Syria seized military vehicles belonging to the regime along the route toward Kweris Airport In the eastern countryside of Aleppo on Dec. 2, 2024. (Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via APRami Alsayed/NurPhoto via AP)

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Assad has been a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had for more than a decade dedicated military resources to the defense of Assad's regime and its government forces.

Assad now arrives in Russia with his family, according to an Interfax news agency report, citing a Kremlin source.

Fighters enter the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on Nov. 29, 2024.  (Bakr Alkasem/AFP via Getty Images)

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"President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds," the source told the outlet.