Russian forces leave Assad's hometown

Amid conflicting announcements about Russia's future in Syria, Russian military vehicles have begun to leave Lakatiya province, the birthplace of the fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez al-Assad, described there as the "immortal leader". .

Heavy army vehicles and aircraft are leaving the Russian military base in Syria's Lakatia province.

In the media reports and in the communications on the streets of the city, there are conflicting data about where these vehicles are going.

Some say they are leaving Syria. Some others say no.

In a nearby neighborhood, there are still shops with signs in Russian, mostly to meet the needs that soldiers may have. Some locals said they fear minority groups in Syria will be at risk without Russian protection after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Others say the Russians' move is a signal that the war is ending.

Soldiers from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, the rebel group that quickly spread activity across Syria after the fall of the regime, say this is cause for celebration. "There is a lot of joy. And when they leave, I will be even happier," he says.

On the other side of Latakia, the province that is the birthplace of the Assad family, this sign reads: "Tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the immortal leader."

Hafez was the father of Bashar al-Assad who is also remembered as a brutal dictator.

Even in this pro-Assad area, graffiti on the wall calls for revenge for the deaths of countless victims in Assad's prisons, where prisoners were tortured and killed. VOA met with families from other parts of Syria who are searching for the bodies of their loved ones.

"So many people have been arrested that we cannot count them. We are looking for our closest loved ones, uncles and brothers. There is no family that is not missing two or three members", says Ahmed Maaroëi, a relative of a missing prisoner.

Russia was a close ally of the Assad government, which in 2015 became involved in the Syrian Civil War to protect the regime.

In other parts of Syria, locals say Russian bombs were responsible for the death and destruction.

But in Latakia, where many fear they will be unfairly seen as affiliated with the fallen regime when the new government is formed, some residents are worried about what will happen to them if the Russians, whom they consider friends, to leave the country. VOA (A2 Televizion)