An image of Syrian President Bashar Assad, riddled with bullets, is seen on the facade of the provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition’s takeover of Hama. (Photo: AP)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is nowhere to be found in Damascus, a source tells CNN.
The official line of the Syrian president’s office is that Assad hasn’t fled the capital. But a source with knowledge of the situation tells CNN that Assad isn’t at any of the locations in the city where you’d expect to find him.
Assad’s Presidential Guard is no longer deployed at his usual place of residence, as they would be if he was there, the source said, fueling speculation he may have escaped Damascus.
Traditionally, this guard detail would provide Assad’s inner cordon of security, and some of them would be expected to travel with the president when he is on the move.
According to the source, rebel forces have no solid intelligence on Assad’s location and are continuing their efforts to find him.
More on Syria
Rebels appear to have entered Damascus, resident says, as the Assad regime’s defenses collapse
Rebel forces appear to have entered the Syrian capital of Damascus, one resident told CNN, as the Assad regime’s defenses showed signs of collapsing.
“The rebels are in Barzeh,” a neighborhood inside Damascus city, the resident told CNN, adding that clashes were currently taking place.
“I saw rebel fighters moving through the inner alleys of Barzeh toward Police Club Street, and I could hear very loud sounds of clashes. The electricity is cut off, and the internet is very weak, people are staying at their houses.”
Reconnaissance units had entered Damascus overnight searching for President Bashar al-Assad but were unable to find him, the source added.
Special rebel operatives have entered Damascus and are taking up key positions in “strategic places,” the source said.
The rebels say they are in touch with senior Assad regime elements who are considering defecting.
Throughout the day, anti-regime forces have been moving from the north, south, and east toward Damascus, reaching suburbs less than 5 miles — and in one case, barely 1 mile — from the center of the Syrian capital.
Damascus the focus for the rebels
Syria’s main rebel group says it will now focus on Damascus, after capturing four cities in a day to the south and north of the capital.
“We were able to liberate four Syrian cities within 24 hours: Daraa, Quneitra, Suwayda and Homs, and our operations are continuing to liberate the entire Damascus countryside, and our eyes are on the capital, Damascus,” spokesperson Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani said early Sunday morning local time.
US won’t get involved
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Saturday the United States is “not going to dive into” the ongoing civil war in Syria but will “take steps” to prevent any potential resurgence of ISIS. His comments come amid a lightning offensive by Syrian rebels.
“The United States is not going to dive into the middle, militarily dive into the middle, of a Syrian civil war. What we are going to do is focus on the American national security priorities and interests,” Sullivan said during a fireside chat at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California.
Sullivan added that while the US will not take a side in the ongoing civil war, it will take necessary steps to prevent the resurgence of ISIS in northeast Syria and support regional allies.
Senior Assad regime officials preparing to defect
“A group of senior regime officials and officers in the capital, Damascus, are coordinating with us to secure their defection,” Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, a spokesperson for the Military Operations Command, said in a statement late Saturday.
“This has led to a state of distrust among the regime’s military leaders, with accusations of betrayal and collaboration with the revolutionaries being exchanged,” he added.
Some residents began to flee upscale neighborhoods
Dozens of residents began to flee the upscale Mezzeh neighborhood, close to Damascus, on Saturday, as rebel forces made gains through regime-held areas.
Assad’s family fled to Russia
Bashar al-Assad’s family fled to Russia in the days after rebel forces launched a shock offensive that captured swathes of territory across northern Syria, it has been revealed.
It comes after a source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg News that Moscow had no plans to rescue the Syrian president, with Vladimir Putin said to be disgusted by reports of regime troops fleeing their positions.
“Russia doesn’t have a plan to save Assad and doesn’t see one emerging as long as the Syrian president’s army continues to abandon its positions,” said the source.
Asma al-Assad, the Syrian president’s British-born wife, fled with their three children last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing Syrian security officials and Arab officials.
Assad’s two brothers-in-law have also left Syria and traveled to the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper said.
A pro-Assad TV news channel said on Friday that he had traveled to Iran, but later denied its own report.
Egyptian and Jordanian officials are understood to have urged the Syrian president to leave the country and form a government-in-exile.
CNN / News Agencies