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From begging Türkiye to requesting Iraqi support.. These are the details of the last days of Bashar al-Assad’s rule
Arab| 8 December, 2024 - 3:29 PM
Syria woke up to unusual news on the morning of December 8, 2024, as millions of Syrians watched opposition forces enter the city of Damascus hours after taking control of Homs, without much resistance from the regime's army forces.
In parallel with scenes of opposition forces penetrating the capital’s neighborhoods, news of ousted President Bashar al-Assad leaving the country on a small passenger plane was confirmed, without knowing the final destination of the plane that disappeared from radars, which prompted Reuters to suggest that it crashed near Tartous Governorate without a final confirmation regarding his fate with his family, as Russian media circulated another story stating that he took refuge in the Russian Hmeimim base in the Latakia countryside.
The Syrian regime went through difficult times during its last days, when the opposition forces were close to the city of Hama, which represents an important gateway to advance to Damascus, and it made intensive international contacts to avoid its end.
Assad begging Türkiye
Diplomatic sources confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that Assad had tried, since the first days of the Syrian opposition forces’ attack, to beg for the Turkish position and convince Ankara to intervene and influence it to stop the attack.
Assad resorted to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who has good relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He made a phone call to al-Sudani in early December and informed him of his readiness to resume negotiations with Turkey.
He justified to Al-Sudani his failure to respond to his first mediation, through which he sought to bring Ankara and Damascus closer together, by saying that he did not trust the Turkish position, and he had a feeling that a military attack was being prepared by the opposition in northern Syria.
Al-Sudani sensed through communications with the Turkish side a lack of desire to intervene, and that there is an international atmosphere indicating the imminent abandonment of Assad. Here, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was forced to go to Ankara to try to convince it to work on returning to de-escalation again in northern Syria.
But Iranian efforts did not succeed, and Ankara held the Syrian regime responsible for the explosion of the situation because it did not accept to engage in the political process.
Working to bring Iraqi support
According to informed security sources, the Syrian regime has been fully convinced since the beginning of December that the Lebanese Hezbollah will not intervene in the confrontations with the opposition forces except in a limited way, and near the border areas with Lebanon if the opposition approaches them. This is what prompted it to head to Iraq and try to convince it to support it by sending factions affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces to fight alongside it.
According to the sources, the Syrian regime's Foreign Minister Bassam al-Sabbagh discussed with the Iraqi Prime Minister the idea of official Iraqi military support for the regime, but the Iraqi side was not open to the idea, and stressed that Baghdad sees the need to distance itself from conflicts outside its borders in order to avoid any political consequences that may result from it before the international community.
Details of the last round of the Astana route
On December 7, the 23rd round of the Astana process - which appears to be the last - was held in the Qatari capital, Doha, with the attendance of Ankara, Tehran, and Moscow, in addition to the participation of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq.
Informed sources confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that Tehran had proposed, during the meeting, the idea of a ceasefire, establishing lines of engagement, and then working to launch a dialogue between the Syrian regime and the opposition. However, the Turkish side denied the possibility of controlling the opposition forces that were close to entering Damascus, and these forces would not accept it unless a political transition was achieved.
In Doha, international parties discussed the idea of political transition and the issue of forming a transitional governing body that may be announced in the coming few days, which made Iran completely convinced that things were moving towards the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. This is what prompted it to change its tone for the first time and use the term “Syrian opposition” in its official media, in addition to the Iranian Foreign Minister’s statement about their openness towards it.
Protecting Assad versus transitional rule
According to sources in contact with the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow offered Assad protection for him and his family one day before the opposition forces arrived in Damascus and left the country, after he announced his approval of the transitional government. However, the latter refused and confirmed his ability to continue the confrontation. However, the military units present around Damascus stopped responding to orders to continue fighting, especially since they felt that Russia supported Assad’s departure, ending the fighting, and working on a new transitional phase managed by figures representing the Syrian parties.
According to security sources in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad's departure on the small plane was secret and sudden, and not even the head of the regime's National Security Service, Major General Kifah Melhem, knew about it. It is believed that Assad is currently at the Hmeimim base, or that his plane crashed, without there being any final confirmation of either version.
Iraqi security sources confirmed the arrival of a senior figure from the Syrian regime to Iraqi territory this morning before the opposition's operations department took control of the Al-Bukamal border crossing with Iraq. It is likely that this figure is Maher al-Assad, Bashar's brother.
Russia is currently coordinating with the Southern Operations Room to arrange the situation in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and to try to continue the work of the government that specializes in services to ensure the continuity of the work of state institutions. The work of the Southern Operations Room is led by Ahmed al-Awda, commander of the Eighth Brigade, who was previously a commander in the Southern Front affiliated with the opposition, before he concluded a settlement agreement under Russian sponsorship and remained within the Busra al-Sham area, and set off from it towards Damascus during the past few days.
Source: Al Jazeera
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