The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, a long-standing ally of Russia, has upended the Kremlin’s strategy across the Mediterranean and Africa. This shift is forcing Moscow to redirect its focus toward Libya as a potential new stronghold, according to experts.

Russia’s apparent fast-tracking of plans to establish a military hub in Libya could worsen that country’s protracted conflict.

Assad’s regime in Syria, a long-standing ally of Russia, has upended the Kremlin’s strategy across the Mediterranean and Africa. This shift is forcing Moscow to redirect its focus toward Libya as a potential new stronghold,

Turkish Airlines is resuming flights to the Syrian capital, Damascus (DAM), and to Benghazi (BEN), Libya’s second city, from its Istanbul (IST) hub. The two destinations had featured on Turkish Airlines’ network in the past but were discontinued due to the military and political situation in both countries.

Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict that followed the 2011 uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade rule. The country has since been split between the United Nations-recognised government of Dbeibah in Tripoli, which Turkey supports, and Haftar’s forces, backed by Russia, in the east.

After the ouster of Syria's longtime leader Bashar al-Assad last month, Israel's military has taken up a new post in the demilitarized buffer zone created in Syria after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Assad, the Russian-backed dictator of Syria, has led to Russia needing to evacuate its military presence from the country. To achieve this, in addition to airlifting the most valuable equipment, Russia has dispatched ships to Syria to remove the remaining assets.

Reliance on Russia’s military offerings has become increasingly prevalent in parts of Africa, amid an aggressive push by Moscow to lessen Western influence on the continent.

Russia has lost a naval base after Syria ended an investment contract with Moscow, asserting its authority over the Tartus port.

The new authorities in Syria ended an agreement with the Russian company managing the key port of Tartous in the latest sign of Russia's waning influence in the country after the fall of the regime.

Awda's rising profile and growing ties with Arab states that oppose Syria's new Islamist rulers make him a threat?

Here is a look at Arab Spring, anti-government protests that began in Tunisia in December 2010 and spread throughout the Middle East and Africa in 2011. Algeria January 4, 2011 – Protests begin, sparked by an increase in food prices.