Residents of Latakia are divided as to whether Moscow’s military buildup will lead to religious repression or liberate them from terrorists

The skies of Latakia have never been busier. For the past three weeks, Russian planes have been coming and going at all hours from an airfield near the coastal Syrian city, bringing men and equipment to the aid of President Bashar al-Assad. Local people are still not sure what to make of it.

The buildup is the start of a significant intervention that aims to safeguard Moscow’s ally after four grinding years of war, which have seen Syrian forces focus their declining energies on a strip of the country from the Mediterranean to Damascus, while ceding the rest to opposition groups and jihadists.

Inside Latakia, the new arrivals have been a source of comfort to some locals while they have startled others. A heartland of the Assad regime throughout the war, the city and its surroundings are a hub for senior members of the Alawite sect, to which the Syrian leader and much of his inner circle belong.

The area is also a safe haven for Sunni Muslims and Christian members of Syria’s establishment, who have remained loyal to Assad throughout the conflict.

But it is also home to people who, throughout the chaos that has enveloped the country, have remained opposed to the regime’s rule and its relentless crackdown on dissent.

“We see the Russian planes above us day and night,” said Abu Mohammed, 27, a Latakia local who was aligned with anti-Assad political activists in the early years of the war. “Big waves of them are coming here to protect their base and train Syrian pilots. I would prefer a Russian invasion to the Iranian/Lebanese/Iraqi invasion that we have now. The Shia militias are all over our streets, controlling checkpoints and walking around like they are our masters.

“Even the Syrian army is pissed off with them, but they can’t say it. The only way for Sunnis to complain is via social media. We don’t trust anyone inside to talk to about what bothers us. We feel isolated inside our own country and feel we are being forced to flee to Europe.”

Abdur Rahman Tartousi, a steel merchant from inside the city, said he fully supported the Russian move.

The Russians are in the cafes and markets and are welcome guests. They will help us defeat the scourge of the terrorists Abdur Rahman Tartousi

“There have always been Russian officers here,” he said. “But not in the numbers we have now. They are in the cafes and marketplaces, and they are welcome guests. They will help us defeat the scourge of the terrorists.”

War has raged to the north and west of the city, but Latakia itself has remained largely unscathed.

Locals say, however, that the large numbers of Shia militiamen on the city’s streets have exposed a fragility among state forces that has been evident for at least two years.

“We live in fear here in Latakia,” said Dima, 26. “People’s opinions are divided here depending on where they are, their interests and their links to the government. Those with the government are thrilled [about the Russian intervention]. They see it as protection for their interests and a boost for the government.

“Meanwhile, the Sunnis – who are already suffering every day from kidnapping, killing by the Shabiha and the intelligence units – see this as another tool to repress them and take more rights from them.

“The Sunnis believe that the coming of the Russians is the announcement by the Alawite government of federalism. The Alawite government will kick out all of the Sunnis from the coast and consider this area as a Sunni-free zone.”

Tamer, 24, from Latakia, said that Russian-led military operations have already started, in apparent contradiction of claims from Moscow and the US secretary of state, John Kerry, that the posture of the new arrivals was defensive.

“The Russians participated in an operation with the regime last week,” Tamer said. “There has long been a planned deportation for the Sunnis in Latakia, and many of their houses were taken by the Iranians and Hezbollah. I believe this is the beginning of dividing the country.

“The Russians came now to rescue the Syrians because the opposition came very close to the Alawite villages in Jourin. They want to control that area because it is on a top of a hill and once they have it, they can control the valleys around it and secure them.”