QAMISHLO, — Russian troops and equipment pulled out Tuesday from Qamishlo airport in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), leaving the military facility empty of aircraft and flags, AFP reported.
The withdrawal reflects ongoing changes in the region, where Kurdish forces, once controlling large areas in northern and eastern Syria, have stepped back under pressure from the country’s new Islamist authorities, who are consolidating control across Syria.
Russian forces, who had supported former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until his 2024 removal, established a base at Qamishlo airport in November 2019, following a major Turkish offensive against Kurdish fighters.
A Syrian Islamist military official in Hasaka province told AFP that Russian forces were transporting heavy equipment and weapons from Qamishlo airport by aircraft to the Hmeimim airbase on the Mediterranean coast.
Earlier on Tuesday, a cargo plane marked with the Russian flag departed the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishlo, AFP reported.
A member of the Kurdish security forces guarding the facility confirmed that “the last Russian plane has departed.”
On Monday the base still displayed Russian flags and housed helicopters, radars, and other military equipment. By Tuesday, these items had been removed.
In 2019, then-U.S. President Donald Trump announced a withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria.
At the time, the U.S. had supported Kurdish forces in their fight against the Islamic State group. Following the announcement, Kurdish leaders began discussions with Assad and Russia, which later conducted patrols and served as a buffer between Kurdish fighters and Turkish forces.
Russia and Syria’s Islamist authorities are working to strengthen ties, with Moscow focused on maintaining agreements regarding its Hmeimim airbase and the Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean, the country’s only official overseas military installations.
This month, Kurdish authorities agreed to merge their administration in Syrian Kurdistan into the new Islamist government.
Both sides are observing a two-week ceasefire, scheduled to expire next month, to facilitate further discussions on integrating the Kurdish-controlled areas into the central government.
(With files from AFP)
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