Two African states are frustrating Moscow's efforts to establish a stronger military presence in the continent following the fall of Assad.

When his Russian bosses and the mercenaries protecting them finally left, Homam Kasouha walked into the plant’s head office and did something he had yearned to do for years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reaffirmed his country's interest in maintaining its military bases in Syria even after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. Discussions must be held with those forces that are now in control of the country,

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Thursday that Russia's nine-year intervention in Syria had been a failure, but expressed concern about Israel's military operations there since the toppling of his ally Bashar al-Assad.

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria has led to the freeing of tens of thousands of prisoners from the country’s brutal and byzantine prison system. Desperate family members continue to search for many more people who went missing since repression of an anti-government uprising triggered a horrific civil war in 2011.

The rapid downfall of Syrian leader Bashar Assad has touched off a new round of delicate geopolitical maneuvering between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would enquire about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, the American journalist missing in Syria, while responding to a question from an NBC correspondent at his lengthy end-of-year press conference.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to ask former Syrian President Assad for help in obtaining information on American journalist Austin Tice after he was taken prisoner 12 years ago.

“The fate of the hostages is contingent upon the Israeli army advancing just hundreds of meters in some of the areas under attack,” Abu Ubaida stated, warning of the escalating risks Israeli military operations pose to captives held in Gaza.

Despite her pleasant air and sense of fashion, the now former Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad was bound to be tied to her husband's fate. Born and raised in the UK, she was respected by some for openly battling cancer and later adored in China for her glamour.

Russian officials have been forced to issue a statement after reports emerged suggesting the wife of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was seeking a divorce.