Secret escape tunnels used by the Assad family have been discovered after their tyrannical regime was overthrown by Syrian rebel forces over the weekend.
A video allegedly shows an underground network under Major General Maher al-Assad’s mansion in Damascus, shows a large staircase leading downwards into a large complex with sitting rooms, metal doors and bedrooms.
Reportedly filmed by a rebel who helped storm the capital, the footage shows a number of rooms and a network of passages. It was captioned: “Massive tunnel complex beneath Maher Assad’s mansion, wide enough for trucks carrying Captagon and gold to drive through.”
Maher al-Assad is the deposed president Bashar al-Assad’s brother, and led a unit of the Syrian army and served as a major general during his family’s autocratic regime.
Their downfall came after a 10-day lightning attack launched by rebel forces under top commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, which saw the government’s forces withdraw and the fighters seize the key cities of Aleppo, Homs and the capital.
In the two-minute video, a number of boxes, documents and designer bags can be seen littering the empty hallways, as well as a kitchen stocked with Tetley Tea and Pepsi cans.
Assad’s 24-year reign of terror was brought to an end on Sunday, and he and his family fled to Moscow in a plane after Vladimir Putin offered him refuge, bringing to an end six decades of rule by the Assad dynasty.
Regarded as one of the 21st century’s most brutal dictators, his regime is said to be responsible for the deaths of an estimated 300,000 Syrians, with the country plunged into years of civil war.
Tens of thousands of Syrians have celebrated across the country by firing guns into the air, waving the rebel flag and entering his presidential palace, which has since been looted.
It is understood his luxury vehicles, which included Mercedes, Ferraris and Audis, have also been seized while rebels also stormed and looted the Iranian embassy.
Meanwhile, the volunteer Syrian White Helmets were investigating reports of prisoners trapped in hidden underground cells in the notorious Sednaya jail. There is so far “no evidence confirming the presence of detainees other than those who were released yesterday [Sunday]”, it said in an update on Monday.
Sir Keir Starmer has announced £11m in additional humanitarian aid funding for Syria after Assad’s regime was toppled.
The money will help NGOs and the UN meet the needs of the “most vulnerable” people in the country, including the estimated 370,000 people who have been displaced by recent events.
