9 Thousand Syrian Citizens Take Shelter In Russia's Hameim Air Base

JAKARTA - Russian air bases in Hameim in Syria house about 9,000 people seeking protection from a wave of sectarian violence.

Hameim is one of two military bases in Syria that Russia wants to maintain despite its ally, the former president Bashar al-Assad, was ousted by Islamic rebels in December.

"They are seeking protection, just because they know that this is a matter of life and death," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Most of the civilians who took refuge there were women and children.

The sectarian violence in Syria led to clashes between new government security forces led by Muslims and fighters from the Alawi Assad minority group.

Hundreds of Alawi civilians were killed in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said was in retaliation for attacks on security forces.

The fall of Assad, which has been Moscow-backed for years in Syria's civil war, has dealt a heavy blow to his interests in the Middle East.

Russia is trying to build relations with Syria's new leadership under interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the future of the Himeim base and the Tartous naval facility remains unclear.

Zakharova said Russia was doing everything it could to ensure the safety of its citizens and facilities in Syria, and was actively in contact with Arab, Turkish and Iranian countries to try to ensure the country's long-term stabilization.

Russia was shocked by the violence and hoped the perpetrators would be punished.