Bashar al-Assad on Monday said he fled Syria only after Damascus had fallen and denounced the country’s new leaders as “terrorists,” in his first remarks since armed opposition forces seized the capital and unseated him.The Military Operations Administration launched a lightning offensive from its northwest Syria bastion on November 27, swiftly capturing major cities from government control and taking the capital on December 8.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” said a statement from al-Assad on the ousted presidency’s Telegram channel.“I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours” of Sunday December 8, it added.“As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations,” the statement said, adding that he arrived at the