Syrian President Assad's status remains unclear– report - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

There is little evidence that Syria's allies will step in to help al-Assad, CNN reported.

 

A rebel led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stands in the back of a vehicle in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fate is currently unknown, US officials told CNN.

The officials cautioned that there has been no formal assessment of Assad's status and that his death has not been ruled out. 

“The emerging consensus is that is an increasingly plausible scenario,” one senior US official said to CNN. 

The Syrian government has denied reports that al-Assad is not in Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA  reported. 

Axios reported on Saturday night that three Israeli defense officials said that al-Assad was still in Damascus. 

A view shows a damaged poster of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, after the Syrian army said that dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack by rebels who swept into the city, in Syria November 30, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MAHMOUD HASSANO/FILE PHOTO)

Conflicting reports

Bloomberg reported that Assad's whereabouts where unknown, but listed multiple possibilities of where he could be. 

Assad could be in Damascus, as Syrian officials have stated. He reportedly also could be in his hometown of Al-Qardaha, which is close to a Russian base, or in Tehran, a US policy source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. 

Officials told CNN that they believe the al-Assad regime will lose power over the weekend. 

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the current fighting in Syria is "a complicated situation. It’s one we’re monitoring closely, and we’re staying in close touch with regional partners about it."

CNN further reported that there was little evidence that Syria' allies, Russia and Iran, would step in to help al-Assad. 

Russian war bloggers have reported that Russian military staff have fled bases in the region. Tehran began evacuating its Quds Force personnel and diplomatic staff as early as Friday.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-832394

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