Satellite images show that Russian naval vessels have left Moscow's Tartous base on Syria's coastline and some have dropped their anchors offshore after the overthrow by rebel forces of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

A photo taken by Planet Labs on December 9 showed three vessels of the Russian Mediterranean Fleet, including two guided-missile frigates and an oiler. They were moored about 13 km (8 miles) north-west of Tartous. Satellite imagery did not immediately show the rest of the fleet.

The Russian defence ministry in Moscow did not respond immediately to a comment request.

After a lightning advance, Syrian rebels seized Damascus' capital on Sunday. Assad fled to Russia following a 13-year war in Syria and 54 years under his family's autocratic regime.

Moscow, an ally of Assad's regime for decades now, is scrambling to reach a deal to ensure the safety of two strategic military bases.

Tartous is home to a Russian naval base and a major Russian airbase in Latakia, a coastal city.

Tartous is the only Russian Mediterranean repair and resupply hub. Moscow uses Syria as a staging point to fly military contractors into and out of Africa.

According to an analysis by BlackSky & Planet Labs of satellite imagery, Russia previously had five surface vessels and one sub at Tartous. BlackSky captured an image on December 5 that showed all six ships at the base. Satellite images taken on Dec. 9 confirm reports made by Russian blogger "Rybar", who claimed that the warships left Tartous for safety reasons and took up positions off the coast.

Satellite imagery showed that the fleet left the base between Dec. 6-9. (Reporting and editing by Mark Heinrich; Reade Levinson)

(source: Reuters)