MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The situation remains peaceful in the settlements of the Syrian province of Latakia around Russia’s Hmeymim airbase, witnesses told TASS on Thursday.
"The situation in the city is calm and peaceful," a local resident told TASS over the phone, adding that the new authorities have "detained and jailed looters, opened hotlines in case of attempted theft, attacks, or harassment."
On December 9, the agency's source said that the armed opposition was in full control of the Syrian province of Latakia, where Russian military bases are located. According to earlier reports, Syrian armed formations entered the provinces of Tartus and Jebla when the opposition announced the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The radicals did not invade the territory of the Russian military bases.
In late November, Syria’s armed opposition launched a large-scale offensive against government forces. On December 8, they entered Damascus, while the army withdrew from the Syrian capital. Syria's President Bashar Assad resigned and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government until March 1, 2025.