Bashar al-Assad, family granted humanitarian asylum in Russia

Russia: According to a foreign news agency, Russia has granted asylum to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family on humanitarian grounds.

Russian Channel One has also quoted Kremlin sources as saying that former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Russia.

Earlier, there were conflicting reports of Bashar al-Assad's death in a plane crash.

It is pertinent to note that Syrian opposition forces took control of the capital Damascus and various cities as President Bashar al-Assad fled the country.

According to foreign media reports, Bashar al-Assad had left for an unknown location in a plane before the rebels entered the Syrian capital Damascus.

The US newspaper The New York Times had reported, citing unconfirmed reports, that Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus in the early hours of December 8 via an IL-76 (YK-ATA), but nothing was known about his location.

According to the two-minute radar data available from Bashar al-Assad's plane, his plane was seen descending continuously from an altitude of 8,725 feet. The plane's speed was recorded from 819 to 259 kilometers per hour and then this speed reached 64 kilometers per hour.

However, all the news about his plane crash turned out to be rumors and Bashar al-Assad reached Russia along with his family.