Bombing raids have hit sites across Syria as regional actors in the Middle East scrambled to defend their interests in Syria after the sudden fall of the country’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow on Sunday.
As rebels led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) freed regime prisoners, including from the notorious Sednaya jail – often referred to as the “human slaughterhouse”, Israel, Turkey and the US carried out military action as Assad’s former backers in Russia and Iran also engaged in efforts to shape a future Syria.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed on Monday that Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, had personally granted asylum to Assad. He refused to comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts and said Putin was not planning to meet him.
