Illustrative image. (Sergei Novikov/TASS)
Russia is reportedly withdrawing from Qamishli International Airport in the northeastern Syrian governorate of al-Hasakah.
The Russian military group in Syria maintained a base within the airport, and several positions nearby. This is the only area where Russian troops remained deployed outside the coast of the country after the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad more than a year ago.
The withdrawal was first reported on January 26 by Kurdistan 24, which aired footage showing Russian troops loading a Mi-8 military transport helicopter into an Il-76 aircraft.
Al-Monitor’s reporter Amberin Zaman then reported that one of the Russian positions near the airport, a rest and recreation center, was abandoned.
These reports came out amid intense clashes in the eastern al-Hasakah countryside between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the forces of the Syrian government, which drove the Kurdish-led out from most of the country’s northeastern region earlier this month in a lightning offensive.
A 15-day ceasefire announced two days earlier is not holding up well, and the situation in the region remains very fragile as a merger agreement between the two is yet to be implemented.
Following the reports by Kurdistan 24 and Al-Monitor, Reuters confirmed, citing five Syrian sources, that the Russian military was withdrawing from Qamishli International Airport.
Two of the sources told the news agency Russian troops had begun a gradual withdrawal from Qamishli last week. Some of the forces were expected to move to Russia’s Hmeimim air base on the coast, while others would return to Russia, one of the sources said.
Another Syrian security source on Syria’s western coast said Russian military vehicles and heavy weaponry had been transported from Qamishli to the Hmeimim over the last two days.
Russian daily Kommersant reported last week, citing an unnamed Syrian source, that the Syrian government might ask Russian forces to leave the base once it had pushed the Kurds out because “there’s nothing for them (the Russians) to do there”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not commented on these reports, and while some equipment is being removed from Qamishli, the Russian flag is still waving over the airport.
A withdrawal won’t be surprising, however, taking into account that Damascus and Moscow have not yet reached an agreement on the future of Russian bases in Syria. Adding to this, the increasingly unstable situation in the northeast of the country as a result of the clashes between the government and Kurdish forces.
Just last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is considering a complete withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria for similar reasons, and there is already evidence that such a withdrawal is underway, like the decision to move thousands of ISIS detainees from facilities in the region to Iraq.
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anonymous withdrew her but plug from her anuz—stinky
of course they are ! any mass murder ongoing ? russians evaporate ! the fake jews, or any form of fake religion, have take over, as mrna “vaccines”. in the mean time, “americans” are so utterly stupid, that they do not understand “ice” are a criminal organization, performing a color revolution. if they started to burn witches, they should dance around the fires.
well if they are not going to do anything no point in being there.
was it not better to turn that around ? and why have “military” then ? ”you seriously think ice runs around gunning people down without provocation?” 😂 someone can have stick out their tongue against them. this was exactly what happen in nazi germany. the cattle all the time defended its shepherd. gestapo are let loose on the unfree and the cowards.
russia moves its assets to more effective defensible positions, long term planning is always a benefit.