Claim 1: Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad died in a plane crash.
Claim 2: A video shows the ousted president’s plane engulfed in flames after a crash.
Fact 1: Assad did not die in a plane crash. Instead, he was granted asylum in Russia, along with his family, on humanitarian grounds, news reports confirmed on 9 December 2024. According to Kremlin sources, he is currently in Moscow.
A day after rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham declared Damascus ‘free’ of Assad on 7 December and government forces began withdrawing, several social media posts, including ones on X (archive) and Facebook (archive), claimed that Assad’s plane had crashed just outside Damascus.
Fact 2: The video of a plane engulfed in flames actually shows an Indian Air Force fighter jet that crashed in the city of Barmer during a training mission.
X user @IamNadeem_A shared a video (archive) of an aircraft engulfed in flames, writing, “सुनने में आ रहा कि होम्स के पास बशर अल असद का विमान दुर्घटनाग्रस्त हो गया।
विमान दमिश्क हवाई अड्डे से रवाना हुआ और 500 मीटर की ऊंचाई पर पहुंचा और फिर दुर्घटनाग्रस्त हो गया!
मालूमात का अमल जारी है…….…”
[Translated from Hindi: It is heard that Bashar al-Assad’s plane has crashed near Homs.
The plane took off from Damascus airport and reached a height of 500 meters and then crashed!
The process of gathering information is ongoing……….]
Bashar al-Assad ousted
The regime in Syria collapsed on 8 December 2024, ending 50 years of the Assad family’s rule. The collapse followed a rapid 10-day rebel offensive which captured key cities, including Damascus, according to the Associated Press. After the fall of Homs, Assad fled Damascus without further resistance. Opposition forces called for preserving state institutions and established control over areas previously held by the government, reported the AP.
The rebel coalition, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), faced minimal resistance from government forces. Celebrations erupted in Damascus as security forces abandoned their posts, and symbolic actions, like removing Assad’s images, marked the regime’s fall, the AP report added. According to the Carnegie Middle East Center report, ongoing battles in the northeast between Türkiye-backed forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, an Israeli incursion in southern Syria, and chaos in Damascus highlight the conflict’s unresolved nature, making the situation highly unstable and uncertain.
Fact or Fiction?
When claims of Assad’s death in a plane crash circulated on 8 December, no major news outlets had reported any confirmation on his whereabouts by that time. However, news of his arrival in Moscow, Russia was confirmed by 9 December. A keyword search regarding his whereabouts led us to news reports about Assad and his family being granted asylum in Russia on humanitarian grounds.
According to a BBC report published on 9 December, Russian news agencies quoted a Kremlin source stating that Assad and his family were granted asylum “‘out of humanitarian considerations”. The report further noted that Russian state TV also confirmed the news, putting an end to speculation on the whereabouts of Syria’s former president after rebel forces had seized control of Damascus.
Reuters also reported (archive) the development on 9 December, adding that a Kremlin source confirmed a deal to ensure the safety of Russian military bases. The source stated that Assad had left Syria, giving orders for a peaceful transfer of power after rebel forces entered Damascus unopposed, ending nearly six decades of his family’s rule, the report added. According to Interfax and Russian state media, Assad and his family arrived in Moscow, where they were granted asylum on humanitarian grounds.
The confirmation of Assad’s arrival in Russia disproves claims that he died or was killed in a plane crash.
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the video in the second claim, showing an aircraft on fire, and found a video shared by The Indian Express on YouTube on 2 September 2024, titled “Fighter Plane Crashes Near Barmer Airport, IAF Pilot Safely Ejects During MiG-29 Training Mission.”
Taking cues from the title, we conducted a keyword search that led to reports from Indian news outlets, also dated 2 September 2024, covering the incident. A Hindustan Times report featured a still from the video in question and stated that a MiG-29 fighter jet crashed near Barmer, Rajasthan due to a technical defect, during a routine night training mission. The pilot safely ejected, and no loss of life or property was reported. The report also noted that the crash occurred in a remote area with difficult terrain, delaying the arrival of fire tenders.
Press Trust of India also shared the video on X on 2 September, writing, “VIDEO | A fighter jet crashed near Bandra village in Rajasthan’s Barmer earlier today. No casualties reported.
(Source: Third Party)”
On 16 December, a statement attributed to al-Assad was released on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel presenting an account of how and why the former president fled Syria, according to Al Jazeera. Assad explained he remained in Damascus until 8 December 2024, when rebel forces entered the capital, prompting him to relocate to a Russian base in Latakia to oversee combat operations. After drone attacks rendered the base unsafe, he evacuated to Russia on Moscow’s request. The report further stated that the statement, unverified and unapologetic, framed Assad as a “custodian” of Syria’s sovereignty during his rule.
Virality
The claim about Assad dying in a plane crash was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook.
It was shared here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, and here.
On Threads, it was shared here and here.
The claim that a video showing an aircraft on fire was Assad’s plane was shared here, here, here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Bashar al-Assad did not die in a plane-crash after fleeing Damascus. News reports confirmed on 9 December that Assad has been granted asylum in Russia along with his family. Moreover, claims that a video shows his aircraft engulfed in flames are false. It actually shows an Indian Air Force MiG-29 crash during a training mission in September 2024.
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Background image in cover photo: SANA/AP
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