Since Islamist rebels overthrew the Assad dictatorship in Syria, Egypt, with parallels in its own recent history, has watched warily.

Two Russian ships docked at Syria’s main Mediterranean port last week, in what appears to be part of a large-scale withdrawal of equipment. The loss of access to the port has left Russia’s navy adrift – not to mention Moscow’s entire Middle East strategy.

The fact of the matter is, though, the Russo-Iranian alliance in the Middle East has been dealt a serious blow with the loss of Assad’s regime in Syria. That is now being made all the more evident by the fact that the new Turkish-backed Islamist government in Damascus,

Interesting developments are taking place in north Africa as a result of the recent regime change in Syria. And these developments are intertwined with the Ukraine war. As has been reported, Russia is looking

Only the inquiry team and representatives from the Ministry of Defence have been allowed to attend the closed hearings, preventing the lawyers for the bereaved families, the general public, and the press from observing the proceedings.

Russia has stepped up its military withdrawal from Syria, removing vehicles and containers from its key Tartous port on the country's Mediterranean coast, analysis by BBC Verify suggests.

While it’s unclear what exact political path Syria will take, the dilemmas the country faces are similar to the experiences of other Arab countries more than a decade ago. In the winter of 2010, an outbreak of protests in Tunisia spread across the region, toppling several regimes in what became known as the Arab Uprisings.

It already appears evident that the days of Russia serving as its leading arms supplier have come to an ignominious end.

Once Syria's most influential minority, Alawites struggle to move on from their association with a hated dictator.

Assad’s final ouster appeared abrupt, it had its roots in Syria’s 2011 antigovernment protests, and Syrians will now face many of the same problems that beset other Arab countries after their Arab Spring revolutions.

Analysts say the return suggests that Moscow is preparing to evacuate one of its most valuable overseas bases.