Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad issues first statement since leaving Syria

Ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad planned to keep fighting rebel forces in the country before Russia evacuated him out of the country, according to a statement attributed to him and released on Monday.

“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles,” Assad, 59, said in a written statement shared on Telegram.

Assad said he had remained in Damascus until the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 8 — the day rebels entered the Syria’s capital.

Assad said that as rebel forces swept through the city, he moved north to Lattakia in coordination with Russian allies “to oversee combat operations.” It was at the nearby Hmeimim airbase when “it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen.”

Assad said that with no viable means of leaving the base, which he said had come under intensified drone strikes, Moscow requested an immediate evacuation to Russia that evening.

“This took place a day after the fall of Damascus,” he said. NBC News was not able to independently verify his account.

Assad maintained that prior to that point, he had not considered “stepping down or seeking refuge.”