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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Syrian forces surround Russian base in search of Assad loyalists | |
| 2024-12-29 | |
| [NEWARAB] Syrian forces loyal to the country's new administration intensified their combing operations in the country's coastal region on Saturday, as a deadline for officers and soldiers from the former Assad regime to hand in their weapons passed. Syria's al-Watan newspaper, which is now close to the Syrian authorities, reported security sources as saying, ''The deadline given to remnants of the regime to surrender their weapons ended on Saturday. Anyone who keeps their weapon after today is breaking the law.'' The sources added that the new Syrian authorities' military operations administration had begun ''a wide-ranging security operation against remnants of the ousted throughout Syrian territory''. Operations however seem to be concentrated on the Syrian coast, a stronghold of the former regime. A Syrian security source told al-Jazeera that the military operations administration had set up checkpoints surrounding the Russian Hemeimim military base
An al-Jazeera correspondent said that the purpose of the checkpoints was to search cars entering and leaving the base, after reports that officers of the former regime had fled to the Russian base. Russia has withdrawn some of its troops in northern Syria but says that the fate of the Hemeimim air and naval bases is still ''under discussion''. The Syrian official SANA news agency reported that some regime officers were tossed into the calaboose near the coastal city of Latakia. ''Some remants of Assad's militias and a group of suspects were arrested in the Satmarkhu area near Latakia,'' it said, adding that weapons and ammunition were seized and the operation was still in progress. Troops from the Interior Ministry were also deployed heavily in the coastal town of Banias on Saturday, in order to capture elements associated with the Assad regime. Related: Khmeimim: 2024-12-20 WSJ on the transfer of Russian equipment from Syria to Libya Khmeimim: 2024-12-19 Chechen president Kadyrov's Syria Proposals Called Part of Moscow's PR Campaign Khmeimim: 2024-12-17 Assad on the reasons for the collapse of SAR Related: Hmeimim 12/17/2024 Fate of Russian bases in Syria still up in air, Kremlin admits Hmeimim 12/15/2024 After Assad’s fall, Russia pulling some, but not all, of its forces out of Syria Hmeimim 12/14/2024 Desperate Assad deceived those around him in last hours before stealthy flight from Syria | |
| Posted by:Fred |