Fearing a US attack, the Syrian president left the capital and hid in a Russian military bunker?
President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly been flown out of the capital Damascus and is now hiding inside a military bunker on Syria's western coast.
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| Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stands on the balcony of the presidential palace in the capital Damascus. Photo: AFP |
NewspaperMirrorBritish media on April 13 quoted sources saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is currently hiding inside a Russian military bunker amid the increasing risk of Syria being "shot" by the US military.
If the US and its allies do carry out Mr Trump's threat to fire "nice, new and smart" missiles at Syria, the Assad regime's suspected chemical weapons production and storage facilities could be a prime target.
However, Syrian military bases, intelligence agencies and even Mr. Assad's private residence are assessed to be on the list of possible targets for "missile rain" from the US and its allies.
On the evening of April 12, reports emerged that Mr. Assad had left the presidential palace in the capital Damascus, accompanied by a Russian military escort for protection.
SheetBaghdad Postsaid it had seen images showing Mr. Assad at a fortification at Russia's Khmeimim base, on Syria's western coast.
There were no windows or curtains around the room where Mr. Assad was staying. The pictures showed that there were no Syrian officials sitting around Mr. Assad, all of them were Iranian.
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| Mr. Assad appeared in a windowless room believed to be a Russian military bunker at the Khmeimim base - Photo: Baghdad Post |
The newspaper's information said that the Syrian president is also not allowed to make phone calls in case his hiding place is revealed.
"Syrian affairs are now being managed by both the Russians and the Iranians, while Mr Assad is barred from making any communication to prevent his position being revealed," analysts say.
Members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah force have also left the Tiyas military base in Homs province, central Syria, in anticipation of a US-led attack, the newspaper said.
The US, UK and France have accused the Assad regime of being behind a chemical attack that killed at least 70 people in the town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, on April 7. The town is located about 10km northeast of the capital Damascus.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced that he has "evidence" that the Syrian government attacked the town of Douma with chemical weapons.
However, the above accusation is just an excuse for Washington to take upcoming actions against the Assad government.
"The April 2017 strike on Assad's chemical weapons sites proved to be ineffective. This time there is a high possibility of a larger and broader strike, in terms of the targets," an intelligence source told the newspaper.Mirror.
The Russian military's flight monitoring center said on April 13 that seven US aircraft had conducted a reconnaissance mission in the Eastern Mediterranean. Earlier, information on April 11 said that almost all Russian warships had left the Tartus naval base for the Mediterranean Sea.
