Russia pushed Assad to flee Syria after concluding he’d lost war

Russia persuaded Assad that he would lose the fight against armed groups led by the former al-Qaeda offshoot HTS and offered him and his family safe passage if he left immediately, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. Russian intelligence agents organized the escape, flying Assad out via its air base in Syria, two people said. The aircraft’s transponder was turned off to avoid being tracked, one of them said.