For years, soldiers from Russia's Hmeimim Air Base in Syria roamed freely through coastal cities. War planes flew from the complex to bombard Islamist rebels fighting Bashar Assad's repressive regime.
No longer. With Assad gone, at both Hmeimim and at Russia's Soviet-era Tartous Naval Base 60 kilometers south, small groups of former rebels guard the entrances, their Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist force now in control of the country.
The khaki-uniformed guards escort any Russian convoys that venture out, they told reporters visiting the area last week.
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