Bashar al Assad along with his family, who fled Damascus after rebels took over the capital is in Moscow, Russian state media has said, ending speculation about the fallen Syrian President’s whereabouts.
Quoting a source in the Kremlin, TASS said Mr Assad and his family members have been provided with asylum in the Russian capital.
“Assad and his family members have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum,” the agency’s source said.
TASS added: “Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on the territory of Syria.”
Mr Assad’s whereabouts were unknown after reports he fled Damascus before the rebels arrived there this morning.
Russia, one of Assad’s closest allies, confirmed earlier today that he had left Syria, but did not say where he was, or whether Moscow had given him refuge.
Meanwhile, The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has deployed troops into Syria, according to its chief of staff.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said the IDF sent troops there last night, meaning they are now “fighting on four fronts”.
He said they were in Syria, Judea and Samaria in Gaza and in Lebanon.
The announcement comes shortly after two regional security sources told Reuters news agency the Israeli military had bombed the main research centre in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
The centre has long been suspected of being used by Iran to develop long-range guided missiles.
Israel also targeted the customs headquarters and military intelligence in a security complex in the capital, the sources said.
Bashar al Assad had been backed and propped up by Iran, a major foe of Israel.
However Iran has been weakened in recent months following blows against its proxies in the Middle East, including Gaza’s Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.