RUSSIA LEAVES SYRIA

Mario Nawfal

@MarioNawfal
🚨🇷🇺🇸🇾RUSSIA PACKS UP AND LEAVES SYRIA – BUT IS IT REALLY “GOODBYE”?

After years of propping up Bashar al-Assad, Russia is shipping troops and equipment out of Syria.

Satellite images even caught them packing S-400s like a bad Airbnb guest.

Officials say Moscow’s eyeing Libya for its next move – because why stop at 1 quagmire when you can have 2?

Meanwhile, U.S. forces are enjoying Syria’s suddenly “more permissible” airspace, with Russia’s air defenses now MIA.

Permanent withdrawal? Don’t bet on it.

Source: CNN

Mario Nawfal

@MarioNawfal
🇸🇾 ASSAD’S ESCAPE: CLINGING TO POWER FROM EXILE?

As rebel forces seized Damascus, Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, ending his family’s 50-year grip on Syria. Despite the collapse of his rule, Assad’s statement reveals his determination to maintain a claim to power, even in exile.

He insisted his evacuation was not a retreat but a strategic move:

“At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge.

This does not, in any way, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people… a bond filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent.”

Yet his departure was a desperate scramble.

Assad misled his top aides about Russian reinforcements, quietly left for the airport, and departed while claiming to be “heading home.”

His family had already been relocated to Moscow.

Efforts to secure military aid from Russia and Iran failed, as did his plea for asylum in the UAE.

Even as his regime crumbled, Assad framed himself as indispensable to Syria’s future, clinging to the idea that his leadership remains vital.

His statement appears to seek to preserve a role for himself, but with Damascus lost and his survival dependent on foreign allies, Assad’s hold on power is more delusional than real.

Source: Official Statement, Reuters

Mario Nawfal

@MarioNawfal
🚨🇺🇸 NO U.S. TEAMS SEARCHING FOR AUSTIN TICE IN SYRIA

The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that no U.S. government organization is currently on the ground in Syria searching for Austin Tice, the journalist kidnapped in August 2012 during a reporting trip.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed the U.S. has not ruled out the possibility of such efforts but currently has no specific information about Tice’s whereabouts.

Sources: Reuters