![This aerial picture shows civilians taking refuge from violence at the Hmeimim Russian base in Syria's Latakia Mediterranean province on March 11, 2025. [OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP / Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203967540.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Russian air base at Hmeimim in Syria is sheltering about 9,000 people seeking refuge from a wave of sectarian violence, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, Reuters has reported.
Hmeimim is one of two military bases in Syria that Russia is hoping to retain despite the toppling of its ally, former president Bashar Al-Assad, by Syrian rebels in December.
“They were seeking refuge, simply understanding that it was a matter of life and death,” Zakharova told reporters, adding that most of the civilians taking shelter there were women and children.
The sectarian violence in Syria has pitted the interim government’s security forces against fighters from Assad’s Alawite minority. Hundreds of Alawite civilians were killed in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said were reprisals after attacks on the security forces. Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has said that the killing of the Alawites “threatens Syria’s unity.”
The fall of Assad, whom Moscow had backed for years in Syria’s civil war, has dealt a heavy blow to its interests in the Middle East.
Russia is trying to build relations with the new Syrian leadership under Al-Sharaa. Meanwhile, the future of the Hmeimim base and Tartus naval facility remains unclear.
Zakharova said that Russia is doing everything to secure the safety of its citizens and facilities in Syria, and is in active contact with Arab states, Turkiye and Iran to try to ensure the long-term stabilisation of the country. Russia was shocked by the violence and hoped that the perpetrators would be punished, she added.
READ: UN welcomes Syria deal to unite Kurdish and state forces