Syria’s rebels made a lightning advance on Saturday and said they had captured much of the south, while government forces held their ground to defend the vital central city of Homs in an attempt to save President Bashar Al. On December 7, Assad marked 24 years of rule in Syria.
Mahmoud Hassano Reuters
Syrian rebels battled government forces on Saturday for control of the main city of Homs and advanced on the capital Damascus, collapsing front lines across the country and throwing President Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule into trouble.
Government defenses have collapsed with dizzying speed since rebels swept into Aleppo a week ago, seizing a series of major cities and rising where the insurgency had long since ended.
The twin threats to strategically important Homs and the capital Damascus now pose an existential threat to Assad’s decades-long rule in Syria and the continued influence of his main regional backer, Iran.
Homs residents and army and rebel sources said the rebels breached government defenses from the north and east of the city. A rebel commander said they had taken control of a military camp and village outside the city.
State television reported that the rebels had not yet penetrated into Homs, although they said they were on the outskirts of the city and said the military was hitting them with artillery and drones.
The rebels said they had captured nearly the entire southwestern region within 24 hours and had advanced to within 30 kilometers (20 miles) of Damascus as government forces retreated.
Protesters took to the streets of several Damascus suburbs, tearing down posters of Assad and toppling statues of his father, former President Hafez al-Assad, without protest from the army or police, underscoring the uprising in the capital. possibility. Some were joined by some soldiers, but they had changed into civilian clothes and deserted, residents said.
However, the state news agency reported that Assad remained in Damascus and the military said it was sending reinforcements around the capital and south.
The developments have shocked Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 amid an uprising against Assad’s rule, has embroiled outside powers, created space for jihadist militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighboring countries.
Assad has long relied on allies to suppress the rebels through bombings by Russian warplanes, while Iran has sent allied forces, including Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi militias, to support the Syrian army and attack rebel strongholds.
But Russia has been focusing on the war in Ukraine since 2022, and Hezbollah has suffered huge losses in its hard-fought war with Israel, severely limiting the ability of Hezbollah or Iran to support Assad.
US President-elect Trump said the United States should not get involved in the conflict but “let it develop naturally.”
Russia, Iran, Türkiye
The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey, the main rebel backer, met on Saturday to reach an agreement on the importance of Syria’s territorial integrity and restarting the political process, they said.
But there is no sign they have agreed on any concrete steps, as the situation inside Syria changes by the hour.
Russia maintains naval and air bases in Syria, which are important not only to its support for Assad but also to its ability to project influence in the Mediterranean and Africa.
Moscow has been backing government forces with heavy airstrikes, but it’s unclear whether it can easily step up that campaign.
Iran has said it will consider sending troops to Syria, but any immediate additional aid may depend on Hezbollah and Iraqi militias.
Lebanese groups sent some “monitoring forces” to Homs on Friday, but any large-scale deployment would risk Israeli air strikes, Western officials said.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias are on high alert as thousands of heavily armed militants prepare to deploy to Syria, with many gathering near the border. A government spokesman said on Friday that Iraq was not seeking military intervention in Syria.
Britain warned Assad that any use of chemical weapons was a red line and “appropriate action” would be taken.
Battle of Homs
A Homs resident said he saw rebels crossing a Syrian air base in the north of the city, which is considered a main defense zone. The resident later said sounds of fighting could be heard on the outskirts of the city.
An opposition figure in contact with the rebel command and a Syrian army source also said the rebels were in the city.
Seizing Homs, a key crossroads between the capital and the Mediterranean, would cut off Damascus from the coastal strongholds of Assad’s minority Alawite sect and Russian air and naval bases.
In the south, a rapid collapse of government control could lead to a coordinated attack on the capital, Assad’s seat of power.
A Syrian military officer said Syrian troops retreated to regroup in Sassa, 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Damascus.
Jamana is on the city’s southern outskirts, where protesters toppled a statue of Hafez al-Assad. Residents said soldiers deserted in the former rebel stronghold of Dalaya and Meze, near a major air base.
The main rebel group, Tahrir al-Sham, said it had a responsibility to protect the Syrian government, international organizations and U.N. offices.
The mayor of the Iraqi border town of Qam said that about 2,000 Syrian soldiers have crossed into Iraq to seek asylum, a sign of the collapse of government forces in the east.
Syrian Kurdish forces seized eastern Deir ez-Zor on Friday, jeopardizing Assad’s land links with his Iraqi allies.
About The Author
