During the fighting, two Russian soldiers still stationed in the base were killed – said the Hawar agency, associated with the Kurdish autonomous administration of northern and eastern Syria, called Rożawa.
In addition to the Russians in the air base, located in the seaside province of Latakia, there are civilians, mainly Alawites, who took refuge in it, escaping from religious violence, unleashed in March by Islamic militias. According to the red crescent, over 1.7 thousand were killed from their hands. people.
The US is pressing on Damascus
The Russian sea base in Tartus and the Air base in Humajmim were the only Moscow foreign military facilities for decades. The overthrow of the Syrian dictator and the Russian ally Bashar Al-Assad in December last year put the future of these bases in question. Russia, which supported Assad during the civil war, tries to preserve them, but the evacuation from Syria started in January by the Kremlin and the limitation to the minimum of the Russian war fleet in the Mediterranean indicate that Moscow probably came to terms with their loss.
In April, US President Donald Trump ordered the abolition of sanctions against Syria imposed during Assad's rule, which is a significant change in Washington's policy towards this country. At the same time, the United States presses on Damascus to get rid of the Russians from both bases.
