Syrian President Assad’s whereabouts unknown after plane goes missing

Speculation is rife in Syria that President Bashar al-Assad’s plane may have crashed after it disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Reports indicate that Assad fled Damascus on Sunday morning. The rebels opposed to Assad took control of the capital Damascus early on Sunday. Assad is said to have boarded a plane from Damascus for an undisclosed location, as per two senior army officers. This has fuelled speculation about his fate.

According to reports, Assad’s flight, an Ilyushin Il-76 from Syrian Air, went missing after making an unexpected U-turn. Flight tracking data shows that there is no available information on the flight, which took off from Damascus on Sunday.

Media reports suggest that Assad left Damascus as rebel forces advanced towards the capital. Earlier on Saturday, the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) claimed gains in Damascus. On Friday, HTS announced that its forces had entered Homs, Syria’s third-largest city and a key junction connecting Damascus to Assad’s coastal strongholds, according to war monitors and local media.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, confirmed that HTS and its allied factions had seized control of several neighborhoods in Homs. Amid the chaos, police at Homs’ central prison reportedly opened the gates, releasing all inmates, the Observatory stated.

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Syrian President Assad leaves Damascus as rebels advance towards capital: Reports