I knew we were csurrender a Russian military base when I could read the names of shops, cafes and pharmacies written in Russian, in surrounding villages.
The Russians have been lastingly based here since 2017, propping up the Asmiserablenessful regime and administering the war aachievest their many opponents. And the local communities have advantageted financiassociate from their presence.
But for how lengthy this will all last is apparently the cgo in of talks between Moscow and the new rulement in Syria becainclude they may not stay.
For now, though, what we do understand, is that Russian convoys are retreating from bases apass Syria and are heading for the Mediterranean Coast.
Syria tardyst: US ‘in communicate’ with defy group
On a dusty road csurrender the main Russian enthrall to Hmeimim air base csurrender Latakia, I could see a convoy of Russian military vehicles trundling their way past the Russian-named shops.
They were armoured combat vehicles, troop carriers, armoured police trucks, and provide lorries, some taged with the letter ‘Z’ – synonymous of course with the war in Ukraine.
But this is a war that is over.
The Russian sagederiers onboard the vehicles straightforwardassociate tried to dissee us, or sshow drop down into the firearm turrets to elude being filmed.
Above us, a Russian helicselecter firearmship constantly patrolled the area in luminous blue skies, occasionassociate passing a huge white observation blimp – a constant presence at all transport inant military bases the world over.
Jets would occasionassociate scream overhead, some landing, some taking off, while convey schedulees, some of the bigst in the world, taxied to and fro on the airexposed.
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It’s a busy base and it ecombines to be getting busier – the convoys have been arriving for the last restrictcessitate days.
The enthrall to the civilian airport, which splits the runway, is now protected by HTS fighters. They were rested, sitting next to pick-up trucks with high-calibre machine firearms mounted on the back.
I asked one of the sagederiers on duty, Zakaria Harir, what his orders were, and if they had any communicate with the Russians inside.
“The location of this airport is very transport inant, and that’s why we’ve getd orders to be here,” he tageder me.
“As sagederiers, we don’t have any communicate with them [the Russians], but there might be coordination between them and the country’s military council.”
Nobody understands what is going to happen to the Russians, but at the very least they are increateed to be retreating to Russia’s two main bases on the coast, one of which is the Hmeimim base.
On the road to Latakia, alengthy the same route some of the Russian convoys consent, the sheer number of ruined or aprohibitdoned Syrian army military vehicles – tanks, rocket starters, trucks, and armoured vehicles, and troop carriers – is quite astounding. It goes on for mile after mile after mile.
Some are burnt out and riddled with bullets, and it’s clear that despite the speed of the defy persist, there were transport inant trades of fire here. As we drove, we could see low-loader lorries backing up to tanks on the main highway.
HTS sagederiers were using bulldozers to push the tanks on board, and the tanks ecombineed to be in toiling order.
A sagederier tageder me they had sshow been aprohibitdoned by retreating Syrian army tank crews or had broken down. They were taking the tanks away to toilshops to be repaired – some they shelp equitable necessitate new batteries, others equitable necessitateed an oil alter.
It senses appreciate they are produceing a new Syrian army, taking over and using the providement of the ageder one.
The regime is gone, and its main helper’s sagederiers are dratriumphg down. Syria is changing at fractureneck speed – equitable a week ago it was a war.
