Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash that took off from Damascus on Monday, Reuters reported, citing unnamed Syrian sources.
The Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time rebels were reported to have seized the capital.
The plane was initially heading towards a region of Syria where Assad’s Alawite sect is based, but then made a sharp U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for several minutes before disappearing from radar, Reuters reported, adding that it was not immediately clear who was on board.
Two Syrian sources said it was highly likely that Assad had died in the crash, as it was a mystery why the plane suddenly swerved and disappeared from the map, according to Flightradar.
“The plane disappeared from radar, the transponder may have been switched off, but I believe it is more likely that the aircraft was shot down,” one of the sources told Reuters.
On November 27, the formations of the Jabhat al-Nusra group and its allies launched a large-scale offensive against the positions of the Syrian government forces.
By the evening of December 7, Assad’s opponents had captured the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa and Homs.
Syrian militants entered Damascus on Sunday morning, after which units of the Syrian army left the city.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Al-Jalali said that he last spoke with Assad on the evening of December 7 and informed him of the situation.
He stated that the country should have free elections so that Syrians could choose whom they wanted, noting that he had spoken with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani about managing the transitional period, which represents a significant development in efforts to shape Syria’s political future.
