ARA News 

DAMASCUS – The recently arrived Russian forces in Syria are expanding the tarmac of a major airport in the coastal province of Latakia, local sources reported on Sunday.  

Latakia is considered a main stronghold for President Bashar al-Assad and his Alawite sect.

A Syrian official source told ARA News that expanding the airport is aimed to allow larger plans to land there. 

“Russian forces and experts, in coordination and cooperation with the Syrian government, started working on the project which will ensure enough space for large aid planes to land in Latakia airport,” the official said on the condition of anonymity. 

Latakia airport is considered a major military base for pro-Assad forces who have been embattling rebel factions for years. 

Speaking to ARA News in Latakia, opposition activist Alaa Mudar said: “Russia is actually expanding the airbase in preparation for sending larger military supplies and forces to Syria.”

“The Russian government is determined to save Assad and his regime, and the current military intervention by the Russian forces proves Moscow’s direct involvement in the war in Syria,” he said. 

“Putin is Assad’s partner in shedding the Syrian blood. The international community is aware of the Russian intervention, but nobody is willing to take any action to stop this bloodbath,” Mudar said.

Also on Sunday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed in a statement that Moscow’s military support for Assad regime will continue.

“There were military supplies, they are ongoing and they will continue. They are inevitably accompanied by Russian specialists, who help to adjust the equipment, to train Syrian personnel how to use these weaponry,” Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.

Reporting by: Laila Majdalawi

Source: ARA News