A Palace In Shock: Bashar Al-Assad's Final Moments In Syria

Hours before rebel forces seized Damascus and toppled his government on Sunday, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was already out of the country, telling hardly anyone, five former officials told AFP.

The night before, Assad had even asked his close adviser Buthaina Shaaban to prepare a speech -- which the ousted leader never gave -- before flying from Damascus airport to Russia's Hmeimim air base in Syria, and from there out of the country.