A Russian Su-24 aircaft on a runway at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria. © Maksim Blinov / Sputnik
The Russian military group in Syria deployed forces in several towns adjacent to Khmeimim Air Base on the coast, Erem News reported on March 25, citing sources from the region.
Earlier this month, the air base, which represents the focal point of Russian military deployment in Syria, opened its doors to nearly 10,000 civilians who fled a government crackdown targeting mainly members of the Alawite religious minority, which former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad belongs to.
The crackdown went on for over a week, leaving more than 1,600 civilians, mostly Alawites, dead, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russian forces reinforced their positions around Khmeimim in recent days, according to Erem News, which said that Syrian military and security personnel stationed around the air base were instructed to evacuate all their positions and withdraw, allowing Russian forces to take over in order to “secure and protect” the base.
The Abu Dhabi-based news website also reported a major increase in Russian aerial operations over the entire coastal region.
While the government’s crackdown on so-called “regime remnants” have largely come to a halt, violations, including kidnappings and killings are still being reported on a daily basis. Due to this, the civilians taking refuge at Khmeimim are still refusing to return to their homes.
Speaking to Erem, one of the refugees said that Russian forces took control over the towns of Qubaisiya, Bakhdarmo, and Khirbet al-Ashar right next to the air base.
Syrian authorities made several attempts to persuade the civilians in Khmeimim to leave the air base, without providing any guarantees. In fact, the civilians were threatened in some cases.
Another refugee at Khmeimim told Erem that Russian forces were treating refugees with respect and humanity, providing them with all their needs, including a field kitchen, a medical center, and tents. However, he noted that the humanitarian situation there remains complex as the air base is not equipped to accommodate such a large number of people.
Meanwhile, Russian sources reported that the number of flights carrying aid to the air base had increased to around three or four a week.
Russia was among the first to condemn the massacres on the coast and call on the country’s interim government to hold those responsible accountable.
The government announced the formation of an investigation committee as the killings were ongoing earlier this month. However, activists from coast have questioned the independence and sentiment of the committee, especially that it includes members well-known for their anti-Alawite sentiment. So far, none of the fighters and commanders documented to have taken parts in the massacres have been held accountable.
While some observers were quick to speculate that the Russian deployment outside Khmeimim was the beginning of something bigger, facts on the ground do not support this. Still, further escalation by government forces against the Alawites could spark a heated conflict on the coast.
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the interim government launched an investigation, hello! the so called interim government are responsible.
us funded headchoppers
the hand rubbing jews behind the us and israeli and turkish government did this to the people of syria
obviously ur are amerikunt inferior to jews
don’t forget the eu. where new government was cheered.
israel will report findings of investigation .
one can hope that the russians will start flying light weapons to the base and spread them to the people around the base so they can defend themselves against these monsters. this way the alawites will have the same power as the kurds and druze and it can protect the russian bases against the turkish’s monsters and can’t be forced to leave.
right idea, but a very optimistic call. against the grain of their “policy” there for some years now plus the kiddie killers wouldn’t like it.
since russia is very friendly towards isreal even more so then turkey i dont think isreal minds a russian base that much. its the eu who is hell bent on getting rid of russian bases.
no other sources
in amerika we control feces shit in street like dog
there can never be peace in the middle east as long as the $atanic collection of filth occupying palestine is vertical. israhell must be erased from the face of the planet.
calling on the interim govt. to hold those responsible is a no brainer if any, as they’re the ones fully behind it. can’t let the truth get in the way of some deflective smoke and mirrors cunning. if they were serious, these transporters would be evacuating people. there’s no future for them there now, period.
another “glorious victory” for midget vlad!
heheheh
we expand control in our gay bars after taliban sodomized us for 20 yrs
“vlad” and the other allies prevented this from happening for 10 years.
in amerikuntland we close west point send cadets to taliban or pygmy military academy
the putin/trump/netanyahu triumvirate marches on.
but i don’t understand…where are all those international humanitarian organizations: welthungerhilfe, save the children, norwegian refugee council etc that just 3 weeks ago were loudly advocating for lifting the sanctions on this government? it’s done, the european union had them lifted. they should celebrate the success and the wonders of the new regime. why this silence?
talvez se os russos distribuírem armas para os alauitas fortalecerem, se defenderem em igualdade com os terroristas e de quebra ainda darem proteção a toda a região ao redor dessas bases russas. talvez não fosse uma má ideia.
this nato plan to used its so call human right activist of spy ring.with which their infiltrate and destroy former regime and bring in insecurity in syria,libya,iraq,yugoslavia,armenia and ukraine.
there is no democracy in canada,france and britain.but only democracy of racism .theft and bloodshed.truck drivers in canada and yellow vest in france and weekly links right were suppress.
erdogan and his in law son were biggest supporter of head choppers in syria just to steal syrian land, oil and gas.trump were openly stealing oil and gas.just as their did in iraq,libya and africa.
nice , russia is keeping it’s ports . this war could take a hundred years . but the us and israel will probably not survive that long . russia and china will last a hundred more years .
the only humanity in that area.