Assad says he had no plans to leave Syria but was evacuated by Russians

A Syrian fighter carries his weapon past a burning house during a raid to stop looters who swarmed a residential complex of former Bashar Assad’s military officers and set some apartments on fire at the village of Husseiniyeh on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria (Leo Correa/AP)

Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.

The comments are the first by Mr Assad since he was overthrown by insurgent groups.