Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered his military intelligence agency to inform Israel of the locations of depots which contain heavy weaponry and chemical weapons “in order to save his life,” an aide to the Syrian Interim Government told Islamic.

“It was complete treason by Assad,” the aide said. “We were informed that when he took off from Damascus airport to Moscow, he found out that Israel was ready to shoot down his plane,” the aide said.

Assad reportedly flew out of Damascus on Dec. 8 to Moscow, Russia, as Syrian opposition forces were encircling Damascus. He is in Russia alongside his family for political asylum, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“So he told a member of Syrian intelligence to inform the Israelis that he will give them anything they need in order to spare his life,” the aide said. “They [Israel] told him to show them the locations of all the weapons depots that housed the military’s heavy weaponry and their chemical weapons,” the aide said.

Since the opposition takeover of Damascus and the subsequent fall of the 53-year long Assad regime on Dec. 8, Israel has launched roughly 480 airstrikes on these Syrian military targets, most of which have been weapons depots, according to CNN.

“What a betrayal to his country. He has been horrible, but for him to do this? How low do you have to be? For us Syrians and the Arab World, this is complete treason,” the aide said.