As Syria’s Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa struggles to ensure stability in the country, militant groups supporting ousted President Bashar al-Assad are not the only cause of his worries

The resumption of hostilities in Syria could change everything, and the Russian military could suddenly find itself in a precarious and vulnerable position.

A sanctioned MR tanker has exported the first Russian diesel to Syria in more than 10 years, shipping data shows. The 40,000-dwt former Sovcomflot vessel Prosperity (built 2006) has docked in Baniyas, according to its AIS.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said on March 8 that more than 1,000 people had been killed in two days of fighting. It said 745 were civilians, 125 members of the Syrian security forces and 148 fighters loyal to Assad.

Russia has sought a rapprochement with Syria’s new rulers, including with an injection of cash for Syria’s central bank.

Russia shipped a diesel cargo to Syria onboard a tanker under U.S. sanctions, the first known such direct supply to the Middle Eastern country in more than a decade, LSEG data showed.

Ali Koshmr, a 36-year-old man from Syria's Latakia, around 330 km from Damascus, woke up to the sounds of gunfire, tires screeching and dozens of armed men shouting, "Come out, you Alawite pigs, Nusayris!

SYRIA has descended into bloody carnage, with 1,000 slaughtered and reports of naked women paraded before being shot in street executions. Soldiers loyal to the ousted tyrant Bashar al-Assad

Russia maintains two key military bases in Syria, including an air base in Hmeimim and a naval base in Tartous.

Syria received a new shipment of its local currency printed in Russia on Wednesday and more shipments were expected in the future, a Syrian government official said, in a new sign of improving ties between Moscow and Syria's new rulers.