Russians Abandon Al-Qamishli Airfield in Northeastern Syria

Russia has withdrawn its contingent and equipment from the Al-Qamishli military airfield in northeastern Syria.

This is evidenced by a video from the site, published by Al-Monitor.

Based on the publication date and time, journalists were able to enter the facility in the afternoon of January 26.

They entered one of the buildings where Russians had previously lived. There were scattered belongings and other property left behind.

There was also a Russian flag still hanging above the control tower, which they did not take with them.

The day before, a video appeared showing Russian activity near an Il-76MD military transport aircraft. They were loading military equipment to transport it to their other bases.

Previously, two sources reported that Russian troops began a gradual withdrawal from the airport last week.

It was expected that some of the Russians would move to the Hmeimim airbase in western Syria, while others would return to Russia.

Another source in the Syrian security services confirmed that Russian military equipment and heavy weapons had been transported to Hmeimim over the past two days.

The Al-Qamishli airfield, located near the Turkish border, has been used by the Russian military for operations in the region since 2019.

However, after Syrian government forces entered the territory previously controlled by the Kurdish alliance, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the situation changed dramatically.

The Russian Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the situation. At the same time, on January 21, it was announced that the Syrian authorities plan to demand that Russia leave Al-Qamishli, since “they (the Russians) have nothing to do there.”