The loss of its military power in Syria has led Russia to turn its sights on Libya. Could the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria see the strengthening of his Libyan counterpart, Khalifa Haftar?

Even with hopes running high, so much can go wrong when a country ousts a longtime dictator and tries to start anew

In fact, the scale of the challenge facing Syria is greater than that which confronted Libya in 2011. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown after less than a year of conflict that cost thousands of lives. But on his death, much of the country’s infrastructure remained intact. Libyan rebels had exported oil even before his overthrow.

Russia has begun withdrawing a large amount of military equipment and troops from Syria following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, according to two US officials and a western official familiar with the intelligence.

History tells us that where a fragmented coalition of armed groups finds itself in a political vacuum, more violence is probably on the horizon.

Losing Syrian military bases would hurt the Kremlin’s attempts to project power in the Middle East and Africa.

Russia appears to be scrambling to reinforce its bases in Libya as it faces being thrown out of Syria, its other foothold in the Mediterranean. Flight data show at least three Russian military ...

While the Russian military continues to withdraw equipment and troops from Syria, Israel has continued its air raids, intended to further degrade what is left of the former Syrian Armed Forces’ fighting capacity.

Syria has a new interim government, but there is concern about how it will govern following contradictory remarks. Some groups, including women's rights advocates, are already testing the terrain.

Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose members make up one of Syria's biggest religious minorities. Alawites controlled power in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country for the 50 years of the Assad family's rule,

Ghariani, called on all Libyans to unite against the Russians in their country. The Russians fled to Libya after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Mufti al-Ghariani emphasized in his weekly broadcast on Tanasuh television that Russians have increased their presence in Libya since