Assad in Moscow - media | 8 Dec 2024 | Former Syrian President Bashar Assad has been granted asylum in Russia and has arrived in Moscow with his family, RIA Novosti and TASS reported on Sunday, citing Kremlin sources. The development comes as Syrian militants seized control of Damascus, effectively ending Assad's 24-year rule. The swift capture of the Syrian capital marks the culmination of a large-scale offensive launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Led by a former al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] commander and previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, the group initiated a surprise offensive from the opposition-held province of Idlib in northern Syria last week... "Assad, along with members of his family, has arrived in Moscow. Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds," a source told TASS.