Submitted by: Doris Parker

Assad reportedly flees to Syria coastal town as regime forces strike back against rebels


 
Published July 19, 2012
BEIRUT –  As Syrian forces retaliate against rebels in Damascus a day after a deadly bombing attack that killed three regime leaders, reports Thursday suggest President Bashar Assad has fled to the coastal city of Latakia.
Assad, who was noticeably absent after Wednesday's bombing, is directing the government response to his top lieutenants' deaths from the Mediterranean sea resort, Reuters reports, citing opposition sources and a Western diplomat.
"Our information is that he is at his palace in Latakia and that he may have been there for days," a senior opposition figure told Reuters.