Hundreds of Volunteers in Syria’s Latakia Join People’s Militia Daily

LATAKIA (Sputnik) – Hundreds of volunteers in Syria's Latakia province are joining the people's militia every day to help defend the lands liberated from terrorists, the commander of the militia’s training center said Tuesday.

"The training [program] at the center takes two weeks. At the moment there are about 500 individuals there. Previously, thousands used to undergo training, but due to lack of space, the number was reduced," Hussam Nasser told reporters.

According to him, people across Syria want to help the army.

"It is important for the Syrian army, and Syria. People are willing to stay in Syria, in their land, to control and protect it. They want to defeat terrorists," Nasser stressed.

Syrian citizens as old as 50 years-of-age come to the center, he noted.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011. The country’s government is fighting a number of opposition forces, as well as radical Islamist militant organizations, including the Nusra Front and Islamic State (Daesh in Arabic), a group which is outlawed in a number of states around the world, including Russia.

A US-led coalition of 65 nations has been carrying out airstrikes against Daesh in Syria since September 2014 without the approval of the Syrian government or the UN Security Council.

On September 30, Russia began carrying out separate airstrikes against the terrorist group, at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.