LATAKIA, Syria ¨C For years, soldiers from Russia¡¯s Hmeimim Air Base in Syria roamed freely through coastal cities. War planes flew from the complex to bombard Islamist rebels fighting Bashar Assad¡¯s repressive regime.
No longer. With Assad gone, at both Hmeimim and at Russia¡¯s Soviet-era Tartous Naval Base 60 kilometers south, small groups of former rebels guard the entrances, their Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist force now in control of the country.
The khaki-uniformed guards escort any Russian convoys that venture out, they told reporters visiting the area last week.
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