Syria’s ousted leader Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russian allies evacuated him

Associated Press

DAMASCUS (AP) — Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad said Monday he wanted to stay in the country after rebels captured the capital, but Russia’s military evacuated him from their base in western Syria after it came under attack. These were Assad’s first public comments since he was overthrown by insurgent groups just over a week ago following a swift offensive that has shaken up the country’s alliances and led to celebrations in a nation long stifled by civil war. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the political department of the former insurgents’ new transitional government tells the AP that Syria will be open to the world.