Worrying signs for Kremlin as Russian troops pelted with stones in Syria

A number of local media outlets and social media users in Syria have been posting videos of residents pelting Russian troops with stones on Wednesday (November 6).

Videos and pictures show angry residents of Kobane, Syria, throwing large stones at several convoys of Russian vehicles.

In one scene, several dozen civilians managed to stop two Russian armoured vehicles and some of them climbed onto one of the cars with Russian military police insignia, a video released by local news outlet Anha showed.

All this comes while resentment of Russia has been steadily growing in Syria.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights recently slammed Russia for committing "hundreds of war crimes" during its military operations in Syria since 2015.

Russian military operations have resulted in more than 6,500 civilians' deaths, the human rights group says in its 40-page report issued September 30, the fourth anniversary of Russia's military intervention in the Syrian conflict.

There is also new evidence that Russian warplanes deliberately bombed hospitals in Syria to undermine the Syrian opposition.

Just on November 2, a Russian air strike killed six civilians including a child in the embattled opposition bastion of Idlib in northwestern Syria.

Russian occupation of Syria

On a recent Russian Defence Ministry tour of Syria, journalists from AFP and other media saw Moscow's forces digging in for a long stay.

About 3,000 Russian service personnel are now deployed in Syria, at facilities like Tartus and the Khmeimim air base.

The United States on September 26 announced new sanctions targeting a Russian smuggling operation in Syria after confirmation of another chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The al-Assad regime used chlorine on May 19 in Latakia Province during its offensive to take back the last major rebel stronghold in nearby Idlib, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

That was one of the many confirmed uses of chemical weapons by the Moscow-backed regime, including one last year that killed 80 people in Douma.

To protect its Syrian ally, Moscow has also continued to veto United Nations (UN) resolutions on the conflict.

Russia and China on September 19 vetoed a UN Security Council resolution backed by 12 of the 15 member states. It called for a ceasefire in Idlib Province.

Germany, Belgium and Kuwait had led the push for the resolution, noting that half a million Syrians have been displaced in Idlib since government forces opened an offensive in May.

They warned that the conflict could become the century's worst humanitarian crisis if the fighting persisted and urged Russia not to veto what they said was a "purely humanitarian" measure.