Overthrown dictator
Damascus, Abu Dhabi, Moscow: This is how Assad could have fled Syria
The rebels in Syria have not yet reached Damascus when Bashar al-Assad is already fleeing. In this way he could have escaped to Moscow with his family.
Under the palace: an extensive tunnel system with truck entrances and living quarters. Next to the palace: a parking garage with dozens of Ferraris, Mercedes-Benzes and other high-priced cars. As ruler of Syria, Bashar al-Assad was apparently not only fond of luxury, but also prepared for a lot. As if he were escaping.
Putin grants Assad asylum
As is now officially known, it ended in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally granted his ally asylum “on humanitarian grounds,” a Kremlin spokesman said. Assad and his family are staying in the Russian capital for the time being. How exactly the dictator got there remains a mystery. Apart from the fact that he probably took a plane.
It was the Kremlin that announced on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad had given up his presidency to enable a “peaceful transition of power” in Syria. In the evening, the state news agency Tass reported the arrival of the Assads – after rumors had previously made the rounds that the plane with the ex-dictator on board had been grounded.
Syrian plane disappears from radar
The reason for the speculation was the flight with the identification number SYR9218. Behind it is a Syrian Air aircraft Ilyushin Il-76. Assad is said to have fled on this plane. But near the city of Homs, which was already in the hands of the opposition at the time, the flight identifier suddenly disappeared from the radar screens.
Before the signal stopped, the Ilyushin was descending, as . The “Spiegel”, which traced Assad’s possible escape routes, quotes the pilot Matthias Baier with the assessment: The plane was descending, but not at an unusual speed. It was a “relatively normal descent rate” like a “normal approach” to an airport.
Another machine disappears from the radar
There is a military airfield near the city. Baier suspects that flight SYR9218 may have landed there and the pilots switched off the transponder.
The disappearance and subsequent reappearance of a private jet suggests that the Ilyushin landed in a planned manner. A few hours earlier, an Embraer Legacy 600 had also disappeared from the radar in the region, but later appeared on the screens again. The assumption: Assad and his clan switched from one plane to the other at the base.
The trail is lost in Abu Dhabi
that the long-haul jet had taken off from Abu Dhabi towards Homs. The transponder was switched off in the early hours of the morning at half past three. Six hours later, a signal appeared again and the plane returned to Abu Dhabi. There, in the United Arab Emirates, the trail is lost. But: Numerous planes leave the airport for Russia.
Even if the reconstruction of Assad’s escape is based only on assumptions, it could have happened like this:
- On Saturday at 8 p.m. local time, a plane carrying Assad and his family will take off from the international airport in Damascus. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, it is a private plane. According to other sources, it was an Ilyushin transporter.
- They fly to Al-Qusair military airport. Once there, the family switches to an Embraer Legacy 600, which leaves around half past nine in the morning and around 12 p.m. local time in Abu Dhabi lands.
- From there we continue Moscow – where the Assads receive a friendly welcome.
Sources: DPA, AFP, , Flightradar24
Nik
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
