The paramilitary National Defense militia on Monday said its commander in the eastern Deir-ez-Zor province was decorated by Russian army command at the Hemeimeem air base in the province of Lattakia.
Firas Jaham, known as Firas al-Iraqiya, was awarded the Russian defense ministry’s medal of championship.
The tribesman has shown ultimate loyalty to Bashar al-Assad and its key ally Russia over the years of the war. Local activists dub Jaham as the de-facto leader of the Russian-backed militias in the oil-rich province.
More than 220,000 soldiers of the regime and its allied groups have been killed since the conflict erupted ten years ago.
The Syrian regime has also killed more than 500,000 people and displaced 13.2 million.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
