President Bashar al-Assad’s fancy cars go viral after he left the country secretly.
In a surprising twist, the ex-Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for 24 years, left the country in minutes after rebel forces took control of Damascus, and now videos of luxury cars, including Mercedes, Porches, Audis, and Ferraris, previously used by him, are making rounds on social media.
The videos show rebels and citizens entering a complex where several luxury vehicles are parked, which were once used by President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian rebels have shared the footage of these luxury cars from Assad’s fleet in Damascus.
One video shows what appears to be an armory stocked with scores of submachine guns.
“I imagine he and those close to [Assad] … thought: ‘we have enough ammo! We are invincible! Nothing can shake us!’ the poster, TOKO, quipped.
In another video, looters discover a bunker network hidden deep under the main structure, the concrete floors littered with what appear to be empty cigar boxes and gun cases.
“He who fears the people digs hundreds of feet underground,” the poster, Abdullah Almousa, wrote in Arabic.
The palace wasn’t the only government building to be ransacked as soldiers peeled off their uniforms and abandoned their posts.
One user posted a video of what he claims to show people carrying sacks of “money and valuables” from the central bank.
“The smart people did not go to Assad’s palace for chandeliers but to the bank for cash and gold!” he wrote.
It is important to note here that after capturing several cities, Syrian rebels have claimed to have taken control of the capital, Damascus, and also asserted that President Bashar al-Assad fled the country.
According to international media reports, before the rebels entered Damascus, Bashar al-Assad had already left on a plane heading to an unknown location, and later, the plane’s radar contact was lost.
News of Bashar al-Assad’s plane crash
Earlier, rumours were circulating on social media about the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad amid reports that a plane he was allegedly on may have crashed or been shot down during an apparent escape from Damascus.
Open-source data from online tracker Flightradar24.com shows a Syrian Air flight took off from Damascus airport around the time rebels claimed control of the capital.
The aircraft, an Ilyushin Il-76T, was initially headed towards Syria’s coastal region.
Bashar al-Assad takes asylum in Russia
Late on Sunday night, Russian media reported that Assad and his family were in Moscow, where Russia had granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds.
The deal was made to ensure the safety of Russian military bases, according to Russian state media.
