Syrian rebels advance toward Damascus as Assad’s power weakens

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Syrian rebels advanced across the country on Saturday as they advanced towards their goal of seizing Damascus and toppling the Assad regime after seizing cities and territories in a lightning offensive.

“Damascus is waiting for you,” Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, leader of the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), told his fighters on Saturday.

There were reports late on Saturday that rebels had entered the strategic city of Homs, with Reuters citing its spokesman, Hassan Abdulghani, as saying the rebels had “completely liberated” the city. The Syrian army denied rebels had taken over the city.

President Bashar al-Assad’s army has ceded control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor and lost towns in the south as the uprising expanded to include multiple opposition groups.

“Our forces have begun implementing the final phase of besieging the capital Damascus,” Mr. Abdulghani said on Telegram.

He added that the rebels were sending reinforcements to the “Damascus axis,” that opposition fighters had captured three cities in southern Syria and that they had attacked a military base as well as more than a dozen towns. and villages on the outskirts of Homs.

There are multiple reports that Syrian soldiers have left Homs and areas surrounding Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in London, said regime forces had withdrawn from several towns in the Damascus area. The Financial Times could not verify these reports.

The multi-pronged attack poses the most serious threat to Assad’s rule in a decade, reigniting a 13-year civil war that has been largely frozen since 2020.

Syrian state media denied that military units had withdrawn from the Damascus countryside and that Mr. Assad had fled. But some residents say they are preparing for the regime to fall. “It’s over,” said one Damascene.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has long supported some opposition forces in Syria, hailed “a new political and diplomatic reality in Syria” on Saturday.

In the past, Assad’s main backers – Iran, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hizbollah and Russia – have helped him resist rebel advances. However, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said on Saturday that the “collapse” of Assad’s army had accelerated as his supporters were weakened and distracted by other conflicts.

Assad’s allies are “significantly weaker than before, and with Russia in a different region, unable to devote attention to Syria, and Iran generally weaker.”

Hochstein added that Iran appears to be “withdrawing from Syria to some extent”. The New York Times reported that Iranian military commanders were being evacuated.

In a post on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump declared there was “never much interest” for Russia in Syria and warned against US involvement.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow would stand by its ally and was “trying to do everything not to allow terrorists to prevail, even if they say they don’t.” They’re also terrorists.” HTS Islam is listed as a terrorist organization by the US.

Rebels, led by HTS and supported by Turkish-backed factions, have captured Syria’s second city of Aleppo and Hama since launching an offensive 11 days ago.

Homs is the largest city still controlled by the Assad regime on the highway leading south to the capital Damascus.

Analysts say the loss of the city would leave Damascus cut off from Assad’s other major support base in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus. Assad comes from the minority Alawite sect, whose population is concentrated on the coast.

The coastal area is also important for Russia because it gives Moscow access to the Mediterranean.

Homs is located near the Syria-Lebanon border, where Hizbollah has a large presence. Iran and Hizbollah’s support for Assad a decade ago helped consolidate the dictator’s rule, but a year of war with Israel has weakened the militant group. HTS asked the Lebanese people to avoid being drawn into the conflict.

Rebels are also making gains south of Damascus as other opposition groups join the uprising. While HTS claims rebels have captured Deraa, the birthplace of the 2011 Syrian revolution, and the cities of Suwaida and Quneitra, there are conflicting reports about control of the territory.

In a sign of the severity of the crisis, Moscow warn its citizens on Friday in readiness to flee Syria. However, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country’s embassy in Damascus was not evacuated and was still operating normally.

Additional reporting from Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran, Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul and Andrew England in Doha