Published on 15/12/2024 22:07
Reading time: 1min – video: 3min
Fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria: Russians desert the dictator’s former stronghold
Fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria: Russians desert the dictator’s former stronghold
(France 2)
In Syria, Russia has evacuated some of its embassy staff as questions surround its military presence in the country. Our teams went to the province of Latakia, stronghold of the Alawite minority of the Assad clan, but also land of Kremlin operational bases.
The Russian army allowed Bashar al-Assad to remain in power for years. Now she is folding. A Russian base in the province of Latakia, a former stronghold of the Assad family, is protected by a combat helicopter. Rotations of large aircraft come to load military equipment towards Russia. Will the Russians leave the country? At a good distance, fighters from the HTS group want to believe it.
In the village of Qardaha, cradle of the Assad clan, residents of the Alawite minority rushed to topple the statue of Bashar al-Assad’s father. They swear they did not benefit from the scheme. Just above, the mausoleum erected for Hafez al-Assad is covered in insulting graffiti, its windows broken. A former prisoner who says he spent five years in the regime’s jails went there on purpose to vent his resentment. Even in Latakia, once won by Bashar al-Assad, the inhabitants display the flag of the revolution and want to believe that they will not be victims of reprisals.
Watch the full report in the video above
