Bashar al-Assad fled Syria in December 2024. Many top regime officials also made it out.
The escape of top Syrian regime officials was more insane than anything Tom Clancy could have cooked up.
The government of dictator Bashar al-Assad fell in early December 2024 following a lightning offensive by HTS.
The terrorist group pushed through the country in a matter of days, seized Damascus and brought Assad’s rule to an end.
What happened to many top officials remains a mystery. Assad and his brother Maher are known to be in Russia, and we now have new details of how it all went down.
Former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country in December 2024 after ruling with an iron fist for decades. (Photo by Barry Iverson/Getty Images)
Escape of Syrian regime officials is stranger than fiction.
The New York Times published Thursday morning an incredible investigation into the fate of several regime officials.
The report shines an utterly insane light on the mad scramble to get the hell out of the country.
To put it as simply as possible, it was complete chaos.
Assad was whisked away by a convoy of Russian vehicles with his son, assistant and two financial advisors he needed to access his money in Russia. The dictator was flown to a Russian airbase and then flown to Moscow, where he now spends his time playing video games.
That was probably the least chaotic escape. The New York Times reports that other top regime officials rushed to organize an evacuation flight following Assad fleeing under Russian protection.
Bashar al-Assad oversaw a brutal and bloody civil war in Syria. He fled the country in December 2024. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)
Others used speed boats to get as far away from the country as possible. One official, Bassam Hassan, literally drove right through a rebel checkpoint without being recognized. The Times reports that one of the issues HTS might have had when it came to finding and killing regime leaders is that many top officials successfully kept their real names, ages and appearances shielded. Hassan falls into that category. There appears to be only one photo of him, and foreign governments regularly get his age and name wrong, according to the report.
The New York Times also reported that several regime officials rushed to the Russian embassy to hide as panicked arrangements could be made to get them to Moscow.
One of the most interesting cases is Bashar’s brother Maher. It’s well known Maher wasn’t told by his brother that the dictator was leaving. The Times reported Maher called close associates, drove a car to get them and then found some kind of aircraft to escape the claws of HTS. Maher is now also in Russia, although unclear if his relationship with Bashar has turned icy.
The Syrian government under Assad oversaw a brutal civil war and slaughtered civilians, but it’s also clear that the regime was ready to make a run for it when the time came.
Having the Russians on standby and concealing the true identities of the worst offenders of the regime is very smart tradecraft. Rebels can’t kill people if they don’t even truly know who they’re looking for. Driving straight through a rebel checkpoint as one of the most wanted men on the planet like Bassam Hassan did is wild. He’s either insane or has guts of steel. Maybe a little bit of both.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There is going to be an incredible documentary someday made about the collapse of Assad’s government, and I can’t wait to watch it. A historic country full of great people was plunged into chaos and violence that’s hard to comprehend. It ended with a terrorist running the country and Assad in Russia. What was it all for? What was the point of it all if this is how it ended?
A look at Bashar al-Assad’s family during his younger years. His father Hafez (seated on the right) was the leader of Syria prior to Bashar. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
I have no doubt there will be many more stories that come out over the years. Maybe we’ll have to do an OutKick on-site visit to Damascus. Now that would be a wild time. What do you think about the whole situation? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
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