LATAKIA (Syria), January 12. /TASS/. Hundreds of volunteers in the Syrian city of Latakia are daily joining the people’s army to protect the lands liberated from terrorists, the head of the local training center, Husam Naser, told reporters on Tuesday.
"Training at the center takes two weeks. We have about 500 people here, earlier this number was up to 1,000, but the number of students has declined because of the shortage of places," Naser said, noting that people in Syrian cities were willing to help the army.
"This is important for the army, for Syria. People are ready to defend their land. They want to defeat terrorists," he said, adding that volunteers from different cities were coming to the center and that their age was below 50.
Centre’s instructor Muhsin Reia said the students were studying eight hours a day, having firearms and drill training as well as learning to find weapons and explosives stashed in vehicles. Most of the volunteers already had combat experience, he said.
Muar Muhammad, a former teacher, told reporters he had become a volunteer to protect his family. "Like many others here, I have lost some of my next-of-kin," he said.
Latakia Governor Ibrahim al Salem said "the people are the main support for the Syrian army." "What you see here is very important for Syria, for victory over terrorists. Support of the Russian Federation is of course also very important for this victory," he told reporters.
After a two-week training, volunteers ensure law and order on liberated Syrian territories, as well as work at check points there.